Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop
by Miss Masala
Summary: Harry is about to enter his seventh and final year at Hogwarts.A battle is brewing in the magical world. Harry, a 17yearold wizard, has the wizarding world’s hopes and dreams resting on his shoulders. But even a hero needs help sometimes...SLASH HPSS
1. Letters From Home

**Harry Potter and the Emerald raindrop **

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse. Anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars. I only make exceptions for poor people in remote corners the world who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the over priced 1,000 page books. I'm not making any money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, Joan Aiken wrote A Necklace of Raindrops and I do not own any of the rights.

**Summary: **Harry is about to enter his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. A battle is brewing and all magical world.Harry, a 17-year-old wizard, has the wizarding world's hopes and dreams resting on his shoulders. But even he a hero needs some help sometimes. He is left with only one clue: he must search for the Weapon of the North Wind in order to win the war against Lord Voldermort. During the summer, he takes a trip with the Dursley's to a Manor in Scotland where he meets a group of gypsies who are making their way to Hogwarts to seek refuge from Death Eater attacks. The beginning of Harry's Seventh Year beings...

**AN: WARNING SLASH, don't like, don't read. HPSS. !Powerful Harry **

**Inspiration and fairytale**

**AN: When I was five years old, someone read me the story A Necklace of Raindrops by Joan Aiken. It's my favourite fairytale of all time. The fairytale is my inspiration for this story. ****You can read it at http/ internettrash dot com/users/onceuponatime/necklaceofraindrops dot htm**

Now on with the story…enjoy! WRITEN BEFORE HBP, book six did not happen. Chapter 1 Letters from Home 

"Boy! Get the post!" yelled uncle Vernon as Harry slipped the last piece of crispy bacon onto his relative's plate.

It was the middle of the summer holidays, late July. The summer before Harry's seventh year had once again brought about a heat wave which had started the previous week and still showed no sign**s** of letting up. The warm whether was a welcome change for Harry who spent the majority of the year in the colder climate of Scotland. It made his daily chores such as cutting the lawn, weeding the garden or cleaning Uncle Vernon's gleaming company car uncomfortable under the intense sun. He also had to endure the complaints of his relatives over their parched lawn and Dudley's crimson and peeling sunburn, all of which were naturally Harry's fault. Harry pushed the stack of letters next to his uncle's place and turned to retrieve some bread and butter for his own breakfast.

"Phone bill, Water, Gas…letter from Marge," Uncle Vernon pulled open the letter and skimmed through it. "…Regret to inform you that Puddle kin's health is not good…couldn't possibly leave him with part-time workers…. hopefully see you, Petunia and your wonderful son during the October break."

"Oh! What a pity!" Petunia exclaimed "I was looking forward to a trip into London"

"You said you'd take me to the Mega Store Sports Shop! You said you'd buy me my new trainers!" Dudley whined, his piggy face screwed up as if he'd just swallowed a cockroach cluster.

"Of course you'll get them son! We want only the best for our hard working boy. We'll take a trip into London anyway." Vernon concluded pushing the bills aside and retrieving his last letter.

Harry was not in the least upset that Aunt Marge would not be visiting this summer In fact he could not believe his luck He ducked into the lounge and did a quick victory dance. Last summer, when Marge had visited, she had made him give Puddle kins her new favourite bulldog a bath when he had got his paws covered in paint He had jumped onto the newly painted bench in the garden, Harry could have sworn that the dog had done it deliberately and while washing the damn thing with Marge's Strawberry Puppy-wash Shampoo("for the adorable pink pooch") the beast had taken a chunk out of his right hand. Conveniently, not being able to use magic had left him with a permanent scar.

Harry was startled from his thoughts by a strangled sound coming from the next room. Hurriedly returning to the kitchen, he found a smug look plastered across his uncle's piggish face.

"At last!" Uncle Vernon exclaimed, brandishing a crisp white letter in his hand. "Grunnings has been formally recognised as "technology of the future." Our company has been invited to attend a meeting and presentation with the European Building Committee who is willing to sponsor our company! We're going to Scotland!"

"Scotland?" Petunia asked, her face turning from excitement to disappointment in a matter of seconds.

"Yes, the committee will be meeting at Great North Manor, which is a private estate owned by one of the committee members. As guests of honour we have been invited to stay in the Manor with… 'Sir Michael Wood.'" Uncle Vernon read off the letter. "A lot of very important people will be there, this is Grunnings big chance!"

"Well, I suppose the weather there will be slightly cooler, it will be better for Duddly kin's skin. Where exactly in Scotland will we be, dear?" Petunia asked still uncertain of visiting 'the wet land.'

"Not far from Aberdeen. You and Dudley could take day trips into the city I'm sure a lot of the meetings will be very long and I'll only need you there for the presentation." Uncle Vernon said dismissively, eyes glued to the all-important letter as he re-read it for the firth time.

"Oh! That's excellent!" Petunia exclaimed "We'll find somewhere to buy your trainers Dudders!"

Dudley grunted from where he was watching T.V.

Harry felt it was prudent to butt in at this point, "so…um, what about me?"

Vernon started at this unforeseen problem and frowned "Well we're not leaving you here to wreck the house while we're gone, that's for sure!"

"What about leaving him with Mrs. Figg, dear?" Petunia suggested. Harry groaned, although Mrs. Figg was friendly and staying with her would mean he could get updates on the wizarding world since she was a Squib, she was still an old women who went to the shops in tartan slippers and wore her hair in curlers.

"Not for a week, dear!" Vernon exclaimed. "And what if he does some funny stuff? What if he runs away, then we'll have those freaks of his after us!"

Harry opened his mouth to give his uncle the assurance that he was not going to do any 'funny stuff', nor was he going to 'run away'until he realised that according his past record, he was likely to end up doing both.

"He'll have to come with us" Vernon concluded although he did not seem too happy with the idea**. "**We'll find something that'll keep him out of the way. We leave on Thursday."

After the drama of breakfast had concluded, Harry went for a walk round the neighbourhood, his mind wondered to their trip to Scotland. Scotland…how he missed it. He loathed Surrey, with its urban scenery; the perfect little houses all lined up in rows the gleaming with their cars and square lawns. Not far from Aberdeen…was Hogwarts near Aberdeen? Harry had no idea. Few knew the actual location of Hogwarts since it was spelled to be un-mapable and hidden. Maybe he could find Hogsmead? Or did the village have a similar charm on it? Even if it didn't, Scotland was a vast place, the likelihood of being anywhere near Hogwarts was next to nothing. But still, it was nice to think that maybe home was not so far away. How he missed Hogwarts where the air felt alive with magicHere it was dead Not even the immaculate plants seemed to radiate magic as they did at Hogwarts.

Harry turned back towards Privet Drive as the sun began to set, his mind filled with images of magic and laughter.


	2. Return to Scotland

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse. Anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars. I only make exceptions for poor people in remote corners the world who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the over priced 1,000 page books. I'm not making any money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, Joan Aiken wrote A Necklace of Raindrops and I do not own any of the rights.

**Chapter 2**

**Return to Scotland**

Harry pushed aside a large pillow, making a gap large enough to breath; Dudley had insisted that he take half his bedroom with him despite the fact his parents had repeatedly explained to him they would only be staying for a week. The Dursley family and Harry were travelling by car from Little Whinging, Surrey, to Orkney village in the North East of Scotland. From Harry's prediction of the journey he took every year to and from Hogwarts, he expected them to arrive in Scotland in less than ten hours. The upside of being buried under Dudley's junk was that it saved Harry from becoming Dudley's punch bag when he began to become bored twenty minutes into the journey.

As they sped down the endless motorway Harry began to tune out Dudley's moaning as his mind strayed to more pressing matters. It had been three long weeks, July was drawing to a close, and still no news of the wizarding World had reached him. He had received regular letters from Ron and Hermione who were both currently at the Burrow, and the occasional letter from Luna and Neville, but none of them had given him any information. They only told him that they had been warned not to send anything that could be read by others. Harry wasn't certain whether Dumbledore was just trying to keep him out of the loop or if he really believed Harry's owl post was being intercepted, he knew this was Dumbledore's doing and wouldn't put it past the manipulative bastard to deliberately withhold as much information as possible from Harry. It's not like he'd thought twice about doing it before.

Harry was worried though. He had heard that although attacks on the wizarding world were dying down during the summer, there had been an increase of attacks on the muggle world and magical creatureswhich were either fighting against Voldermort or held a passive view. Little had happened the previous year at Hogwarts, which was an achievement in itself. The ministry had admitted to Voldermort's existence and had begun to slowly build a force against him. They had formed an alliance with the elves, the remaining giants, the goblins, the sea creatures such as mermen and many light creatures. Harry, Ron and Hermionie along with those who had accompanied them to the department of mysteries, had been included in general Order meetings and the DA had been expanded to all those in fourth year or above to help students protect themselves.

However, despite all the improvements that had been made during sixth year, Dumbledore still failed to employ a decent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Their recent teacher had been a cross between Dumbledore himself and Gildory Lockhart. He almost had worse taste than Dumbledore if it were possible (his favourite robes being lime green with a lilac trim). He laughed at nearly everything, mostly when it wasn't funny at all (namely when McGonagall had threatened Neville with a months worth of detention for accidentally letting loose some of Hagrid's split-lipped snakes). Yet, for some reason, hedidn't find it very funny when Dean had pointed out thathis unusual use of grammar made him sound like Yoda from_Starwars_.

After an incident involving a hostage situation with his pet monkey, it was found out that thatProfessor Cardiné was not in fact Professor Cardiné but the insane Mr. Jenkins, a wizard who had recently escaped from Great Merlin's Mental Institute. Harry could only wonder who this year's Defence against the Dark Arts teacher would be.

Harry couldn't wait until he could go and stay with the Weasley family this summer. Although he now understood Dumbledore's reasoning behind him staying at Pivet Drive for the majority of the summer, he did not see why he needed to hold up the blood ties to the family, as he would not be returning again after his seventh year. Yet somehow Dumbledore had insisted that it was vital. A sudden thought came to Harry. Dumbledore insisted that he stay at Pivet Drive for the summer to keep the blood protection that was tied to the Dursley family strong. (Did that mean that by leaving the house for an extended period of time he would break the protection and if that was so, did that mean his trip to Scotland would break the bond?)

"Great," thought Harry. Well, there wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment. He had sent off his three-day letter to the Order Headquarters telling them that he and the Dursley's were taking a trip to Scotland for a week and giving them the address of the place they would be staying at. He did not get a reply often; only if Remus had been the one to read the letter and had not received one informing him of any problems.

Still Harry missed the buzz of life that he always felt when he was at the Burrow and he wanted very much to talk to Ginny. After the Department of Mysteries Harry had really got to know Ginny, Neville and Luna and found it easy to talk to them when Ron and Hermione were otherwise disposed (as they were more inclined to be now that they had started dating). Neville and Ginny were dating too and Harry was very happy for them. It was an unusual match, but they seemed to get on well. Luna was surprisingly good to talk to as well. She offered insight into things that others often didn't see and in her own sense was far more sensible then any of his other friends. Harry wondered if she too would be staying at the Burrow for part of the summer?

As afternoon turned to evening they entered Scotland and made their way North towards the east coast. They came to the busy city of Aberdeen and passed through it turning onto smaller roads leading north away from the city. Harry gazed out across wild rolling hills covered with purple heather and scattered with sheep. He felt at home as he lapped up the familiar scenery; he loved Scotland. This was his home, his life, and his freedom.

"Here darling," Petunia exclaimed, nose pressed against a large crumpled map, "that's the turn there."

Harry watched as they drove down a long lane that seemed to lead to nowhere; either side was a large expanse of Mooreland. They were heading towards a large ground of fields and some small buildings behind which stood a group of trees cutting off any further view. As they drew closer to the buildings, they could see that the fields contained horses and the buildings appeared to be stables. They entered a large gravel yard in the centre of the buildings and Vernon stopped the car.

"Where the blazes is the Manor? I think we took the wrong turn Petunia." Vernon exclaimed, he put the car into reverse ready to turn round.

"Wait!" Harry pointed to the side of one of the buildings, where a lane seemed to curve round a group of trees and appeared to disappear into the wood. "What's up there?"

Vernon drove the car slowly down the path around the trees, grumbling about chipping the paintwork on his car. Suddenly, as they drove through the trees they came out of the tree line and the back of a large manor came into view. The path seemed to be a sort of back drive, it lead up towards the manor the around to the right. Harry was amused to see aunt Petunia's eyes were almost falling out of their sockets at the huge immaculately kept lawns with perfectly square hedges and stunning water features that were on either side of the drive.

"I think we came in the back way," Dudley stated unnecessarily.

**Feedback please? Next chapter…The Manor.**


	3. The Manor

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse. Anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars. I only make exceptions for poor people in remote corners the world who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the over priced 1,000 page books. I'm not making any money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, Joan Aiken wrote A Necklace of Raindrops and I do not own any of the rights.

**Chapter 3**

**The Manor**

Harry gazed up at the approaching Manor. It was truly impressive. It was very old and very large, with numerous turrets, which reminded Harry strongly of Hogwarts. There was a buzz of magic coming from the ground beneath them and Harry could almost see faint tendrils of colour seeping out of the ancient stones, although the magic was faint in comparison to that of Hogwarts or Diagon Alley.

Magic was not a living being, but none the less it was alive. It was like energy, it never died, it was always transferred from one thing to another, it was drawn to strong emotions, that's why it can be seen so strongly among children. Even muggle children have magic surrounding them, within them, they just lack the ability channel that magic. Harry had never been taught this; it was just something he knew. This was why the Manor walls were filled with magic, the magic was drawn to the emotions from many generations that were ingrained on the Manor walls, even though it was unlikely any wizard had ever lived in the Manor or any magic had ever been done within it.

They arrived at the Manor and Vernon parked the car out side a large set of wooden doors. As the group began to climb out of Vernon's car, the heavy doors swung open and Tall man dressed in what Harry always referred to as a 'Penguin suit' approach a heavily panting Uncle Vernon who had just managed to win the battle with the car seat and climb out onto the gravel drive.

"May I help you Sir?" asked the man Harry presumed to be the Butler.

"My name is Vernon Dursley, L-E-Y. I'm the Director of Grunnings, 'technology of the future'. I'm here to meet with the Sir Michael Wood and the European Building Committee." Vernon puffed himself up proudly and looked down his nose at the Butler.

"Of course Mr Dursley, if you and your family would like to come this way, your luggage and possessions will be brought to your rooms shortly." The butler made a slight bow and turned to walk into the Manor, with the Dursley's following obediently behind. Harry could tell he was less than impressed with the Dursley's.

Harry looked up as they entered a huge hallway three meters wide and three times as long, several grand double doors led of the hallway with a pair of intricately carved oak doors at the far end of the hall. To either side were flights of stairs, the butler turned and began to climb the left flight and turned to Vernon while continuing up.

"Since you have arrived very late this evening, Sir Michael and his wife, Lady Caroline have already eaten, however I'm sure you will all be very hungry after your long journey, therefore Dinner will be served in the reception room, along with breakfast and lunch tomorrow, so you will have time to recover from your journey. Feel free to wander the grounds during the day and do not hesitate to ask for assistance from an of the staff during your stay." The butler smiled warmly at the guests as they reached the first floor, Harry was impressed that the Butler's smile was so convincing, he suspected he had had a lot of practice. Harry observed that this floor was very similar to the last one with the grand hall way and two flights of stairs. They did not stop here however and the butler urged them up to the second floor.

"Sir Michael will be expecting you for Dinner tomorrow at 8pm, the dinning room is situated on the ground floor at the far end of the hall," the butler explained. So that's what was behind the carved doors, Harry thought, it was all very grand. These people must be some of the richest in Muggle Britain. The Butler had black hair and very dark eyes with a almost exuberated expression permanently plastered across hi face, he reminded Harry very much of Snape.

"Have the other guests arrived yet?" Petunia asked.

"No Ma'am. They will be arriving the day after tomorrow, which is when the first Committee Meeting is to be held. I'm sure Sir Michael will further inform you of the week's set up at your Dinner tomorrow evening." The butler paused and waited for the group to catch up as they reached the second floor.

The hallway of this floor was only half as long and there was only one staircase on the right that led up further. The butler proceeded to the doors directly in front of them and held them open while the Dursley's and Harry filed in. Directly in front of them stood a largish table, which was laden with food, there were also several sofas, a few bookcases and a fireplace in one corner. All together, Harry thought the room was very welcoming.

"This is the reception room," the butler announced, "the staircase out side leads to the third floor, which is the visitor floor. The butler gestured to the two doors on the other side of the reception room. "the door on your left also leads up to the third floor and will take you straight to the main visitor bedroom, the door on the right is mostly kept looked, this leads to Sir Michael's study on the floor below, please do not enter without his express permission. If you need any assistance there is a telephone in each of the bedrooms, dial 0 and a member of staff will assist you. Please tuck in and enjoy your stay."

"Thank you very much," Petunia returned politely and the butler did a half-bow and left. It all seemed overly formal to Harry, but then he'd never stayed in aristocratic home before, the Dursley's at least seemed impressed.

"I'm starving!" Dudley exclaimed and launched himself at the food. Harry frowned and gently took a seat at the table and began to eat his food. Dudley was such a pig.

When all hunger had been satisfied, the Dursley's and Harry decided to explore the 'visitor floor', taking the staircase up to the main bedroom they began to explore. Harry ignored his relatives and looked around. The room he had just arrived in seemed to be the main bedroom; off this was a large dressing room, a very large bathroom and toilets, with several cubicles. Exiting this room Harry arrived on an average sized hallway. On the opposite side were three doors one led to a room, which contained only stairs, this confused Harry at first then he guessed this must lead to a tower or something. The next led to a lounge area with a TV, computer and piano, Harry guessed this was where Dudley would be spending most of the week. The third door led to a small library with a table and sofa, this was nice, Harry thought, just like Hogwarts. Opposite this was another hallway with two bedrooms leading off it, the first contained Dudley's things, and the second contained Harry's.

There were two very large windows and Harry gazed out across the front gardens and further onto the wild moorlands, maybe staying here wouldn't be so bad after all. It was only a week and he might as well make the best of it. Harry, turned and observed his room, there was a bed in the left hand corner, a chest of draws and a couple of wardrobes to his right and behind him by the door was a sofa, desk and table. Well, Harry thought this was defiantly bigger than his room, in fact it was bigger than any of the Dursley's rooms including the lounge!

Harry let out a yawn and quickly striped off. Finding his nightclothes neatly folded on top of his pillow he pulled them on and climbed into bed. No, this defiantly wasn't so bad, Harry thought with a grin; he was planning to make the most of his stay.

**YAY! Ok…. not much happens this chapter, but I really wanted to describe the Manor set out, you'll see more of the Manor as Harry stays there. Next Chapter…The Knight, his Horse and the Stable Lad. This should be a little more interesting.**


	4. The Knight, his Horse and the Stable Lad

**Harry Potter and the Emerald raindrop **

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse. Anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars. I only make exceptions for poor people in remote corners the world who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the over priced 1,000 page books. I'm not making any money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, Joan Aiken wrote A Necklace of Raindrops and I do not own any of the rights.

**Chapter 4**

**The Knight, his Horse and the Stable Lad**

Harry woke to the feeling of sunshine on his face. He felt warm and comfortable and had no intention of getting up. That was until he heard a tapping on the window next to him. Slowly Harry opened his eyes, as the tapping became more insistent. Harry sat up and stretched as he looked as the window behind him and smiled when he was met with the site of Hedwig. He opened the window and let her fly in.

"Hey girl got bored of the Burrow did you?" Hedwig pecked his hand and stuck out her leg. Harry untied the letter to find it was from Ron and Hermione.

_Dear Harry,_

_Remus recently told us that you are staying with the Dursley's in Scotland for a week, I'm sure you're enjoying yourself there, from what Remus said your staying in a 14th Century Manor, how exciting! _(Harry smiled at the idea of Hermione jumping up and down with excitement over an old building, even if it was a really nice old building.)_ We understand that Hedwig is supposed to be staying with us at the Burrow, but she was very uncomfortable staying with Pig who seems to be driving her up the wall. So we decided to send her to you, I'm sure she can find somewhere warm to stay near you._

Here the writing changed as Ron continued the letter

_A lot has been happening recently, of course we can't tell you about it, _(what a surprise!) _but everyone's safe and well. Hope your enjoying yourself mate! You'll only have a week left to spend with the Dursley's when you come back, we asked Mum if you could come over for the last week but Dumbledore won't allow it, blood ties and whatever,_ (Harry growled, sometimes he REALLY hated Dumbledore!)_ really sorry mate. We'll see you at platform nine and three quarters on September the first._

_Love from_

_Ron and Hermione_

_P.S. We have a Surprise for you, but we'll tell you on the train! _(They've Finally got together, it took them long enough!)

Harry put the letter aside and let Hedwig out the window. It was fairly early still, yet it was very sunny and warm. Harry smiled and went to his wardrobe to find something to change into.

When he was dressed he quietly opened his door, not forgetting his wand (so he may be turning into Moody, but better safe than sorry), and exited his room and made his way from the flight of stairs that led down to the floor with the reception room. As he walked past Dudley's room he could hear heavy snoring, telling him that he had predicted correctly that the Dursley's were still asleep. On his way down to the reception room he passed a large grandfather clock in the hallway telling him it was almost eight O'clock.

After a quick breakfast of Toast with jam, bacon and orange juice, Harry decided he would explore the rest of the Manor and grounds. From what he could remember from the night before, he was now on the second floor. Exiting the reception room, Harry crossed the hallway and entered what appeared to be the upper floor of a library. Shelves surrounded the walls with a table in one corner and a fireplace in another. The whole room seemed to be like a balcony; there was a large gap in the centre with a railing around it and Harry could see all the way down to the ground floor when he peered over the barrier. This library was only slightly smaller than the one in Hogwarts, Harry thought. He looked up; the ceiling was solid above him. That must be the visitor library he remembered form the night before. Leaving the library Harry wandered down the hall to the only set of doors left. Pulling them open, he ascended some steps then gasped in surprise. He was looking at a swimming pool. A swimming pool! It was huge, with a walk way all around and an island with a table and palm trees in the middle. Windows surrounded the whole room it was almost as if you were outside, only very high up. The water was completely still and very blue, Harry smiled; wait 'till Ron hears about this.

Deciding to leave the pool for a later date, and thanking his aunt for making him pack an old pair of shorts to use as swimming trunks, Harry left the pool and made his way down to the first floor. Here, Harry discovered the upper level of a lounge, like the library it had a balcony section, only in one corner, so you could look down into the lounge area below. Harry suddenly wondered where Sir Michael and Lady Caroline were, he hoped he wasn't intruding, but it was all open and no one was about. Harry entered the hallway again, ignoring the room opposite him, as he already knew this to be the library, Harry continued down the hallway the suddenly stopped when he noticed the blue rope loosely hanging across the hallway clipped to gold poles on either side of the hall. Harry took the hint, so that was where the residents where Harry thought glancing over the doors ahead. Retreating back to the stairs Harry descended once again until he finally reached the ground floor.

On his left was the lower lounge he had seen from the balcony and on his right the bottom of the library ignoring those rooms he continued on. The left wall had no doors on it here and Harry could only guess this was a private room and could only be entered by one of the resident's private rooms. Ahead of him where those intricately carved oak doors, which the Butler had told him, was the entrance to the Dinning hall.

Harry hesitated, would Sir Michael and his wife be having breakfast in there? Too curious to turn back Harry cracked a door open. The room was huge with a table almost as big as one of the house tables, across the room was a pair of doors, which presumably led to the gardens. He could see that there were two people in the room, both were sitting at the nearest and of the enormous table with their backs to him.

The Man, who was nearest to him seemed very tall, even though he was sitting down, he had black hair and was wearing a dark purple suit, Harry cringed remembering Professor Cardiné's choice of clothes. His wife was mostly obscured from Harry's sight, but she seemed to be wearing some sort of white dress with purple flowers on that matched her husband's suit. There really were a perfect match for the Dursley's, Harry thought.

Gently closing the door so he would not be noticed, Harry turned to the final door and pulled one of its double oak doors opened Harry froze. It was a huge kitchen and there was movement everywhere, it was almost like the kitchen at Hogwarts, only smaller, without magic and with Human staff instead of Houselves. Not all of the staff were cooks and few seemed to be cooking at the moment, every so often Harry would see a maid disappear and reappear with washing from a room Harry could only guess housed the washing machines. Next to that was some kinds of food storage room were servants were unpacking food and storing them away ready for the guests tomorrow.

"Can I help you Mister?" Harry jumped at the question that had come from his right. A friendly middle-aged woman was standing next to him holding some cleaning equipment.

"Um, I was looking for the backdoor." Harry told her a little overwhelmed by the movement in the room. The lady smiled at him.

"Straight across," she gestured to a pair of doors on the opposite side of the kitchen. "If you follow the path round to your left you'll come the back gardens. Don't get lost." She gave him a wink and left to continue with her work.

After an hour or so of exploring perfectly kept gardens with magnificent water features and getting lost more than once in a maze, Harry made his way onto the gravel road that divided the gardens into two and gazed up at the manor, he wondered weather the Dursley's were up yet, he had no watch on so had no idea what the time was but he knew it was still fairly early maybe half nine at the latest. Behind him stood the small group of trees that separated the formal gardens from the stables and fields they had passes through on their way to the manor. Harry could only presume that Sir Michael owned the stables as well as the land around them, the grounds were connected after all. Harry wondered if he would be welcome there, the butler had said he was welcome to explore the grounds, deciding this invitation also extended to the stables, Harry made his way to the group of trees ahead.

Harry rounded the corner and arrived at the stables, the buildings seemed to be a lot bigger in daylight and there were more of them too. Harry opened the gate that had not been shut the night before and walked into the yard, remembering to close the gate behind him. Harry noted, that unlike last night there were horses in the stalls and people were walking around the yard. There was a room filled with leather saddles, brooms buckets and other equipment Harry didn't recognise next to him, on his left on his left were some stalls with horses in them and across from his were more stalls with horses, the whole thing was like a very large square. A boy about Harry's age in a tatty old t-shirt and fairly dirty riding trousers and leather boots approached Harry.

"You got a ride next? You look a little lost, I can find out for you." The boy said kindly, he had brown messy hair, not unlike Harry's and blue eyes.

"Oh, no. I'm staying at the manor this week, I was just looking around." Harry told him, Harry looked at the boy more closely, all the other workers here where wearing blue t-shits with logos telling you they were working at "Great North Manor Stables", but the boy was not wearing the uniform, yet he seemed to be working here, maybe he was only working for the summer.

"In that case your welcome to come and ride for free, as long as we have a free horse." The boy told him. Harry was a little shocked, he had only ridden a horse once, when Dudley had been taken horse ridding (when he was still light enough to ride one), Dudley had wanted to see Harry fall off and had ordered his uncle and aunt to book Harry a session, to Dudley's disappointment, Harry had been fairly good and failed to fall off, which of course earned him a punch later. Apart from that, Harry had not ridden since, with the exception of the Theastrals and a Hippogriff.

"Oh, I can't ride." Harry quickly told him, "I was just having a look around, I don't have that much to do."

"Well you can always help me." The boy told him smiling, "don't worry you won't have to muck out stables or anything, you're a guest, besides that's what the Stable workers are for."

"Your not a stable worker?" Harry asked confused.

"No. I'm with the gypsy's. Mr Wood lets us stay on his land as long as we don't cause any fuss and he's asked me to sort a few of his horses. My name's Jacob," He said.

"Harry," Harry replied with a warm smile, he was beginning to like this boy. Jacob gestured for Harry to follow him. He pointed to the stalls on their right.

"Those are the private stalls," he explained. "They house the horses that are ridden by Mr and Mrs Wood; they're also ridden by some of the workers but not the people who come here to ride." He pointed o the first horse, a beautiful white horse with a really long mane. This is Apollo; he's an Arab dressage horse, won quite a lot of things." Harry copied what Jacob did and rubbed the horse's nose, then they moved on.

"This is Ysabella, Bella for short, she's a Lusitano, Mrs Wood rides her, and she's quite good at dressage." Harry gave this horse's nose a rub too, if whickered at him and rubbed him back. "She likes you!" Harry decided he liked the orangey-yellow coloured horse too. Harry noticed that the other two stables were empty.

"That's Maddy's stable next to Bella's, but she's being schooled at the moment." Harry had no idea what this was, but nodded in agreement. "And that's Pasco's stall but he doesn't like closes spaces, he's till half wild so we keep him in an indoor paddock during the day. He's a Mustang, that's the one Mr Woods asked me to train." Harry had heard of the name Mustang, but he thought it was a type of car, shrugged and followed Jacob.

"You wanna go meet him?" Jacob asked brightly. Harry couldn't help smiling, Jacob's smile lit up his eyes and made him look so enthusiastic.

"Sure," he replied.

"This way."

Jacob and Harry walked towards the left of the yard where there was a gap between the tack room and the other stables. It led into a large covered hall made of white stone. On the left were small straw covered spaces that held horses, each separated by a low stone partitions and tied to a sliding rope. Workers were grooming the horses and putting saddles onto them. On his right there were two large indoor rooms with sand on the floors and stalls in the corners, there were wooden fences with gates to stop horses getting out. The first room was empty but in the second a grey-brown horse was walking around.

"This is Pasco's Paddock. "Jacob explained opening the fence and letting himself in. "Stay here, I'll just go get him." Jacob slowly approached the horse, which seemed fairly nervous. He had a long rope in own hand and was slowly reaching out for the horse's head harness and clipped the end of the rope to it.

"Good boy," Jacob told him, gently rubbing the horse's neck.

Jacob took the horse out of the paddock and into and school a the end of the Hall, Harry knew it was called a school because it had the name "East Indoor School" written on a white plastic board attached to the wooden fence, opposite it was another school marked "West Indoor School", well that seemed logical, thought Harry. All this new information was rather overwhelming, but Jacob was making Harry feel welcome and he decided he rather liked the boy.

Jacob made the horse walk round them in a large circle and then trot and then change direction, While explaining to Harry what he was doing. "You see, because he's still half wild he doesn't understand normal signals and he's not used to being around people and different horses. He's fairly used to me now, but he'll throw a right strop if anyone else tries to handle him, so I'm trying to get him used to other people. He seems to like you, normally he's not too happy with other people, you see horses are very sensitive creatures they can sense emotions and feelings, though most people don't understand that. Horses are very magical creatures.

Harry thought about what Jacob had said. He was right, horses were magical, of all the non-magical creatures out there, horses were related to the most magical creatures, there were theatrals, unicorns, and hippogriffs and there were probably more. Hippogriffs were very sensitive to emotions as well.

"Just like hippogriffs." Harry said absently. Jacob gave him a knowing look.

"Yer, just like hippogriffs." He said smiling. Finally, Jacob let Pasco come to a halt and took him back to his paddock. Harry had been mulling over what Jacob had said, it was as if Jacob had know about hippogriffs, Harry wondered if maybe Jacob was a wizard, but if he was, he didn't go to Hogwarts. Maybe he was home schooled? Then Harry remembered what Jacob had said about him being a Gypsy and Harry began to wonder if gypsies were magical. Not the loud-mouthed travellers, but the traditional gypsy's that worked wonders with horses, as Jacob seemed to do and rode round in brightly painted wooden wagons, if there really were any left.

"Jacob, have you ever heard of a place called Hogwarts?" Harry asked, knowing he could just tell him is was some village somewhere if he hadn't.

"Course I have," Jacob said smiling, and then asked Harry quietly "you're a wizard aren't you?"

"Yes," Harry replied. "Are you?"

"No. I'm a gypsy." Jacob replied his smile widening as if this explained everything.

"I didn't know gypsy's were magical." Harry replied surprised.

"Well, most wizards don't like us, you see. So I don't expect people talk about us much. Besides we're more like sorcerers than wizards, we don't use wands we use natural magic, which is why we're good with horses, we get on well. We're mostly not as powerful as wizards either or at least, that's what they like to think" Jacob explained.

"Why don't wizards like you?" Harry asked slightly confused.

"They don't understand how our magic works and because of that they're afraid of us, not all wizards mind you, just most. We keep to ourselves mostly, we travel about and look out for our own". As Jacob and Harry walked back towards the Yard where horses were being fed, he thought about what Jacob had said, surely such a stereotype could not have befallen the gypsies simply because the wizarding world didn't understand their magic, Harry was sure that there was more to it, but new when to drop a subject, he'd ask Hermione when he next saw her.

"It's lunchtime." He told Harry. "Would you like to come meet the rest of my family?" Harry smiled and nodded.

Slightly longer than the last chapters, but getting more interesting! 

**Next Chapter…. Meet the Neighbours. We will meet Jacob's "family" and Harry and the Dursley's will have dinner with their hosts.**


	5. Meeting the Neighbours

**Harry Potter and the Emerald raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse. Anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars. I only make exceptions for poor people in remote corners the world who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the over priced 1,000 page books. I'm not making any money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, Joan Aiken wrote A Necklace of Raindrops and I do not own any of the rights.

**Chapter 5 **

**Meeting the Neighbours**

Ten minutes after leaving the yard they arrived at a small wood at the end of the gravel path they had been following across the Mooreland. In front of the wood stood a group of brightly painted old style caravans with horses grazing in temporary rope paddocks and children it brightly coloured clothes playing games across the open space inside the circle of caravans. There were several small fires with cooking pots above them and adults sitting in groups eating lunch. Jacob walked over to small green caravan with blue swirls on it were a man sat before a fire cooking some bacon.

"Gavin, this is Harry." Jacob said pushing Harry towards the man. "Harry this is my uncle, Gavin."

"Nice to meet you, Sir" Harry, replied not sure weather calling the man by his first name was polite, it wasn't in the wizarding world.

"Harry's a wizard," Jacob stated as though this explained everything, which it probably is"

"Yes, of course he's a wizard. Nice to meet you Harry, there's no need for the 'Sir' or this second name nonsense, you may call me Gavin, unless your wanting me to call you Mr Potter all the time, hmmm?" Gavin said smiling at Harry.

"No of course not, umm thanks Gavin." Harry said smiling it was a relief to know that, although the gypsies recognised who he was, they were not about to treat him any differently to everyone else. Harry was beginning to like these gypsies; they seemed far friendlier than the majority of the wizarding world and less prejudice too.

"Help yourself to some Bacon," Jacob suggested, passing a plate to Harry who took a seat next to Jacob on the grass.

It was really nice here, so peaceful watching everyone moving around enjoying life. Occasionally Harry would observe an occurrence that was not quite natural, a child jumping just a fraction higher than should be possible, a woman circling her hand over a steaming cup of tea to cool it down and there was always a strong smell of herbs and a taste of magic that seemed to linger in the air, but mostly these people seemed to live with out magic, they didn't use it for every small thing as wizards did for 'practicality' they seemed to work around these things and use very subtle magic without noticing it. Sometimes, Harry felt that this was how magic was meant to be.

"So you go to Hogwarts do you Harry?" Gavin asked. Pouring Harry a cup of tea and cooling it down absentmindedly.

"Yes, I'm about to start my seventh and final year, term starts in about two weeks." Harry replied.

"I know, we're going to be leaving in a weeks time to make our way there ourselves, natures been giving us warnings and we feel we should seek the safety of Hogwarts." Gavin explained. "The white wizard, has given us permission to stay within her grounds and we hear her calling to us." So do I, thought Harry.

"Do you mean Albus Dumbledore?" Harry asked thinking that this could only be the possible explanation.

"Yes, Albus – the white one," Gavin, replied. "That's what his name says."

"Well I guess we'll be seeing each other again." Harry replied, smiling at the thought of seeing these friendly people everyday. He missed the wizarding world greatly and being around these people seemed to ease that somewhat.

Jacob spent the rest of the afternoon explaining the basics of horses to Harry and showing him where everything was kept. Harry had decided that while staying at the Manor he might as well help Jacob, as he had nothing better to do and today had been fun, Jacob even persuaded Harry to learn to ride. When it had turned seven o'clock that evening, Harry had just finished helping Jacob turn the horses out for the night and check on Pasco, he said goodnight to Jacob and promised to meet him at eight thirty the next morning before heading back to the manor to have a bath ready for the big dinner later that evening.

When he arrived on the visitor's floor of the manor the Dursley's were rushing around getting ready for the dinner this evening.

"Where have you been?" Petunia exclaimed. "Get into that suit at once. No, take a shower first. You stink!"

Vernon was insisting that Dudley and Harry both wear a suit. Dudley had barely fit into his old one and Harry had never owned one so they had been shopping shortly before they left to buy Harry and Dudley new suits and Petunia a new dress as her newest one was 'out of session'.

Harry quickly bathed and dressed into a dark forest-green suit with a crisp white silk shirt, Vernon really had gone all out with this, even for Harry. Petunia had chosen the colour, normally Harry would have cringed at the idea of a green suit, but it made his eyes standout, maybe Petunia's choice in colours wasn't so bad after all. He combed through his messy hair as well, he had grown it longer in the summer, it fell into his eyes at the front. His aunt had not liked it at all, but every time she tried to cut it would grow back to its original length in a matter of seconds, so she had given up.

Harry waited in the hall way for the Dursley's to finish getting ready. Finally Dudley arrived wearing a midnight blue suit and complaining loudly that it was too tight, Vernon was wearing a traditional black suit and Petunia was in a stylish matching black evening dress (she had brought several as she had insisted that it was impossible to wear the came dress twice or an evening dress at lunchtime.)

They made their way down to the dinning room at ten to eight to find the butler waiting by the entrance ready to open the door.

"Mr Vernon Dursley, Mrs Petunia Dursley, Master Dudley Dursley and Master Harry Potter." The butler announced as the four entered the large hall, Petunia exclaimed in delight at the grandness of it and Vernon straightened himself to look more puffed up than ever. The couple previously sitting stood up to great their guests.

"Mr Dursley! It's a pleasure to meet you and your family at last." Sir Michael exclaimed taking Vernon right hand and half shaking it to death while plastering a huge smile across his face. Even then he still looked incredibly forbidding in his dark purple suit and black shirt.

"It really is a pleasure." Lady Caroline said, taking Petunia's hand and politely shaking it while smiling at Harry and Dudley. She was wearing a matching dress again, however this time it was a dark purple dress with black embroidery instead of the white as Sir Michael had changed his shirt colour. They really were well suited to the Dursley's, Harry smirked at the thought.

"Have a seat, do have a seat, dinner will be served in just a moment. Jeeves, can you please tell the kitchen that we are ready to be served!" Their overly enthusiastic host exclaimed. Shortly a plate of steaming hot roast was placed in front of Harry, and Vernon and Sir Michael were in deep discussion over metal supply prices and Petunia and Lady Caroline ("do call me Carol") in one involving the latest celebrity scandal over the latest Big Brother show, while Dudley and Harry tucked into their meals and returned polite answers to any question that was fired there way. For the purpose of the visit, Uncle Vernon had decided to tell Harry went to Smeltings with Dudley, as this would be far less of a scandal than saying his nephew was a young offender.

Vernon had done his usual threatening over his 'funny stuff', but it had been far less vigorous that it could have been. Harry guessed this was probably because he had managed to go through the whole of the previous summer without using any magic at all and had left on good terms, or as good as they could be.

They meal finished swiftly, and they finally parted for the evening, they would be having breakfast in the reception room as they had yesterday so there was no fuss in the morning, then Lady Caroline would spend the day entertaining Petunia and the other wives, while the European Building Committee met to discuss their plans and hear Vernon's presentation, all very old-fashioned it you asked Harry. Dudley and Harry were allowed to do as they pleased during the day as long as they arrived back on time ready for dinner and the evening.

Harry entered his room and stripped off his suit getting changed ready for bed. It had been a long day and surprising tiring and Harry was out cold the moment his head touched the pillow, falling into a deep undisturbed sleep.

**Chapter 6…. 'A Horse for Harry' and food for thought.**


	6. A Horse for Harry

**Harry Potter and the Emerald raindrop **

**AkashaWinters**

**Chapter 6**

**A Horse for Harry**

The next day dawned as bright as the last; Harry woke early at half past seven to get ready for the day. Harry paused unsure what exactly to wear; Jacob had worn an old t-shirt with a pair of riding trousers, Harry recalled. Well, Harry didn't have any riding trouser, but he had plenty of old clothes. Finding one of Dudley's huge t-shirts that had been given to him a few years previously, Harry pulled this on along with a pair of old jogging trousers and trainers and ran a comb for his hair, not that it made a difference of course, but no one could accuse him of not combing his hair now. He somehow felt that he wanted to impress Jacob, he wasn't sure why exactly, probably because the gypsies had seemed like such nice people.

He made his way to the reception room and once again enjoyed a quick breakfast before making his way downs stairs and through the kitchen to the back of the manor. Walking down to the stables Harry took in deep breath, it was going to be hot again today, but hopefully not too hot, he would be out most of the day.

Arriving at the stables Harry was surprised to find the workers were already here and the horses were being fed, looking around Harry spotted Jacob pushing a dog out of the tack room. No, wait. It wasn't a dog in was a very small pony, no bigger than a dog with a dark brown coat and big eyes.

Harry was now used to the smaller ponies wandering around the yard buildings; they whole yard complex was closed off with gates and they couldn't get free but the workers preferred to let them out of their stalls when there weren't too many people around as they were often very intelligent and got bored easily.

"The smaller they are, the more intelligent they are", Jacob had said and Harry didn't doubt it.

"Shoo Missy! Go on! Get out of it!" Jacob told the pony who trotted off in the opposite direction to steal some hey off a laden worker.

"Want some help?" Harry asked, he one raised eyebrow at the exasperated look on Jacob's face and laughed.

"Na. I was just looking for some things for you actually." Jacob said leaning against the doorway. "What size feet have you got?"

"Eight. Why?" Harry asked a little confused.

"Excellent!" Jacob disappeared and reappeared with a pair of nearly new leather riding boots and a pair of dark green jodhpurs. "Here these should fit you, if your going to be spending your time here you might as well look the part."

Harry retreated off to the yard toilet to change into the jodhpurs while Jacob routed around for more things. Harry walked back towards the tack room, Jacob had done well he thought: the jodhpurs were a good fit as were the boots, he thought he looked quite the part in them as well, the green matched his eyes bringing out their colour nicely. Harry frowned, since when had he care what he looked like?

"Here" Jacob passed him a pair of leather…well; Harry wasn't sure what they were. Jacob laughed. "They're gaiters. You put the around your calf and the bottom of your shoe. They keep everything clean and look cool!" Harry laughed at this and secured the 'gaiters' onto his calves.

"Right now. We have an hour and a half before the children start to arrive for lessons, so that should give us time to teach you the basics" Jacob grinned, "let's go find you a horse!" he led Harry to the stables were the general horses were kept.

"Harry, this is Taz. "Jacob gestured to the horse in front of him it was about fourteen hands with a beautiful black coat that was shining. Taz is a Rocky Mountain pony. He's fast, surefooted and very good across country. He's one of ours."

Jacob and Harry entered the Stable and Jacob showed Harry how to put a halter on Taz and lead him out of the stall, this didn't seem too hard, he'd never been too bad at Care of Magical Creatures. Inside the school Jacob showed Harry how to tack up Taz and made Harry do it until he could do it flawlessly while Taz waited very patiently. Jacob told him Taz was often very lively and usually naughty with people, but he seemed to be at ease for the moment.

Finally Harry was helped up into the saddle where he was shown the correct position. Once Harry was happy with this and felt safe Jacob stood in the middle of the school while Harry walked Taz around it in different patterns, while Jacob corrected him posture and signals. Taz was responding easily to him and Harry was really beginning to enjoy himself. It wasn't all that different to riding a broom, which confused Harry as Hermione had once told him she had gone horse riding and enjoyed it, yet she was terrified of the idea of flying. Maybe she had a secret fear of heights, Harry mused.

Soon Jacob had Harry slowly trotting round the school in time with Taz's movement. Jacob was almost ecstatic with Harry's progress. Harry was very disappointed when the children started to arrive and he and Jacob had to finish their lesson. Harry took Taz back to his stall, where he untacked him and gave him a piece of carrot.

"Good boy!" Taz whickered in response and Harry smiled.

Finally lunchtime arrived and Harry tacked up Taz and Jacob put a bridle on his own horse and they rode down to the campsite where they stopped off for lunch. Harry was very envious to watch Jacob ride bareback and canter ahead of him, well he was a gypsy, thought Harry ruefully, and Harry wasn't half bad himself.

During their lunch a little girl of about five years had come up to Jacob. "Jacob! Can I ride with you? Please! Daddy won't let me ride; coz penny's got a sore leg. Can ride on Jerez with you?" The young girl asked him excitedly.

"Sorry Meg, but I'm making the meal right now, maybe later." Jacob said smiling at the small blonde girl dressed in a patchwork dress. Her face fell and suddenly she looked really said, then just as quickly she beamed up at Harry.

"Will you give me a ride? Will you? Pleeeaaase!" Meg asked loudly a silly grin plastered across her face; Harry felt his face giving way to a huge smile.

"Go on, you give her a ride. I wouldn't bother with Taz's saddle, just put on the bridle; someone will give you a leg up." Jacob said returning to this cooking. Harry took the little girl's hand and led her to where Taz was grazing, he the put the small girl on and climbed up behind her. He rode around the area while the girl giggled then finally stopped to let her down. Taz bucked and cantered off to join the other horses. Harry grinned as the young girl ran up to a group of children and began to chat to the excitedly.

Harry and Jacob walked back to the stables where they spent the afternoon working with the horses. Finally the afternoon turned to evening and Harry left the Stables and made his way to a nice cold bath before dressing once again in his forest-green suit and waited for Petunia to come and collect Dudley and him for dinner.

Soon Harry found himself and Dudley being guided into the Dinning Hall where they were introduced to several Committee members and their wives, there were no other teenagers there and the nearest person to Harry was three years older than him; Mr. Anthony Baxter, a twenty year old man who would be inheriting his father's business, he reminded Harry very much of Percy with his wooden personality and obvious enthusiasm for anything related to drills. Vernon seems particularly fond of Anthony and highly approved of having a son to take over the family business and Harry began to feel very sorry for Dudley, who would surely be the victim of Vernon's latest obsession, he wouldn't know what hit him.

Harry sighed, he could tell he was in for a boring evening; he took a sip or the cup of tea in front of him and gasped as it burnt his mouth. Great he thought, just what I need. Harry remembered the way Gavin had circled his hand over the cup to cool it down and wondered for the second time how he did it. It was obviously with use of magic, but not the normal sort. Harry looked at his cup of tea and copied Gavin's motions. Nothing happened.

That wasn't really surprising magic always involved more than a movement, but Gavin hadn't said anything, at least, not out loud. Harry remembered what Jacob had said about the gypsies using "natural magic" and nature giving them "warnings". Harry closed his eyes and imagined something very cold, an iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic. He waved his hand over his cup and imagined the coldness in his cup. Suddenly there was a gasp next to him; Harry opened his eyes to find Dudley staring at his teacup. Harry looked down to find to see that his tea had turned into solid ice. Oops, Harry, thought maybe a little to cold. Harry gestured to Dudley to stay quiet while checking no one else had noticed before imagining something warmer, but not boiling hot. Finally after much practice, Harry managed to get a perfectly temperatured cup of tea, taking a long sip he gave out of sigh and returned to the conversation around him.

Harry spent the rest of the evening talking to a lady in her mid fifties, her name was Beryl and she secretly confided to Harry that she too found this committee meetings very dull and knew just how he felt. Beryl was a very friendly lady who loved the countryside as much as Harry and he soon found himself in a deep discussion with her about Sir Michael's horses and the gypsies staying on his land. Harry was surprised to find that Beryl very much approved of the gypsies and their way of life, although she admitting she much preferred the luxuries of her own life to every try "living it rough". Soon the evening drew to a close and the other guests left while the Dursley's and their host made their polite goodbyes and Beryl made Harry promised to sit next to her the next evening at dinner, telling him his conversation was "far more entertaining than any of those grumpy old men", which made Harry smile.

Later that night Harry climbed into bed with a slight headache beginning; maybe I shouldn't spend quite so much time out in the sun. Harry decided he would ask Jacob to have tomorrow's ride in one of the indoor schools as he drifted of to sleep.

**Chapter 7..….. Warnings from Nature, and Harry has a dream….**


	7. Warnings from Nature

**Harry Potter and the Emerald raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse. Anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars. I only make exceptions for poor people in remote corners the world who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the over priced 1,000 page books. I'm not making any money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, Joan Aiken wrote A Necklace of Raindrops and I do not own any of the rights.

**Chapter 7 **

**Warnings from Nature**

Harry woke up, cold sweat dripping down his face. He had just had a nightmare; at least he hoped it was a nightmare. Harry had stopped having visions half way through sixth year when he and Snape had put the majority of their differences aside and Harry finally mastered occlumency, so this couldn't be a vision from Voldermort, yet it had seemed too real.

…The death eaters were gaining on them fast, they were flying on the backs of large purple-black tigers with red eyes, huge bat-like wings and serpent tipped tails, they made a screeching noise like an eagle as they swooped down upon them, talons outstretched like they were picking their prey. The death eaters jeered at them from above as their creatures swooped towards the group and fire rained down on them from the dark sky above, yet they could not breach the barrier holding them back, parted from their prey, but the damage had already been done and reinforcements would be on their way.

_**Spurring the horse on he galloped into the night, breaching the barrier and making for the open ground ahead, death eaters hot on his heals…**_

Harry shook his head and brushed away the nightmare, it was only a nightmare after all, I mean flying tigers? Definitely just a bad dream, he couldn't ride that well anyway and who were these people he was supposedly with in the middle of nowhere? Harry shook his head again and glanced at the clock on his chest of draws. It was six o'clock a bit too early to be getting up normally, but it was light outside so Harry got up and showered and dressed in old clothes then made his way down to the reception room for breakfast, determined to forget the dream.

Half an hour later at almost seven, Harry was helping Jacob with what had become their everyday routine. He had another lesson on Taz and Jacob taught him to canter, it took Harry a little longer to master this and they cantered slowly down to the camping sight for lunch.

While he and Jacob were sat with Gavin eating a ham sandwich lunch, Harry considered how much he was enjoying his magic-free life at the moment everything was simply, he had nothing to worry about here, all his problems seemed to dissolve. Suddenly, a ball of white feathers careered down onto Harry.

"Hello Hedwig. Having a good time girl?" Harry asked the snowy owl as she peaked at his sandwich.

"I should probably write a reply to that letter Ron and Hermione sent me." Harry told her. Borrowing a pen and piece of paper off Jacob (no parchment and quills here), Harry lent over and began to write a reply.

_Dear Ron and Hermione,_

(Harry paused not sure what to say then continued.)

_I hope you are enjoying yourselves at the Burrow, have Fred and George been to visit yet? Is everyone still in tacked? The weather is very good here and the manor and grounds are very large. Hermione, you will be pleased to know that you are right and the building is 14th Century, I asked the owner yesterday evening._

(Harry thought for a moment before continuing, Jacob had said wizards didn't like them, but he was sure his friends didn't hold such prejudices and decided it didn't matter.)

_I've been spending most of the time outside in the sun helping with some horses and I've met a boy named Jacob, he's our age and is one of the gypsies that are currently staying on the manor grounds. They're very nice people and will be staying at Hogwarts during the upcoming school year so I'll be seeing them again when we arrive._

_I had a really weird dream yesterday night; well it was more like a nightmare, than like a vision, only it wasn't. It's hard to explain. I'll tell you about it on the train. See you then._

_Love from _

_Harry_

_P.S say hi to Remus for me._

Tying the letter to Hedwig's leg he let her fly away and watched her sore across the rolling purple hills behind them. It was overcast now; thick black clouds were rolling in from the north.

"There's going to be storm tonight," Gavin told him without looking up. "We'll put the horses in the stable paddocks tonight, keep them out of the rain. They need to stay healthy and strong, we have a long trip ahead of us. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning"

"Tomorrow?" Harry exclaimed, disappointed they would be leaving so soon. "There's still three days before the week ends."

"Natures giving us warnings." Jacob explained. "The quicker we get to Hogwarts the better. The Dark Wizard's men will be looking for us, not even our people are safe. If he thinks we're a threat to him he'll kill us. We've stayed unnoticed until now, but he's closing in on us." Harry didn't doubt that Voldermort wanted to kill them, any one who wouldn't side with him he killed, but he didn't understand how they knew that Death Eaters were searching for them. Harry could feel nothing except the pressure of the coming storm.

The horses were led down to the stables and were put in the paddock, while the stable horses were stalled for the night, they were uneasy about the storm and called to one another across the paddocks. They had just finished putting the last horse in as heavy droplets of rain began to fall and form puddles on the ground.

"We're going back now," Jacob yelled above the noise. "You should come with us, you know, you'll be safer at Hogwarts." Harry thought about this. They would only be arriving a few days earlier and he'd already left the safety of 4 Privet Drive, it seemed a sensible idea to Harry and he didn't like the idea of being stuck with the Dursley's for the rest of the summer without Jacob's company, it seemed like a good idea.

"What time are you leaving?" Harry yelled back as a crash of thunder rolled across the hills.

"Early, just before dawn" Jacob replied. "See you there then!" Jacob left and ran down the streaming lane to wards the campsite and Harry turned back to the manor, he was completely drenched.

That night Harry had the same dream of flying tigers, death eaters and fire, but this time it was followed by anther dream a calmer one.

A gentle mist was swirling around him in this grey world and he could hear the trickle of water from a small steam and felt a gentle breeze on his skin. It was a cold breeze that was pleasantly refreshing and gently ruffled his hair. A small voice was carried across the wind. It was a child's voice that seemed to call out in singsong way:

"_**Laaauura," it called quietly, "where are you? I don't want to play anymore Laura."**_

Slowly the voice faded and only the sound of the stream remained until that too faded away and Harry was enveloped in darkness once more.

**Unusual chapter…and the beginning of the next part of our story, for those of you who really aren't into horses, you'll be glad to know there's not going to be much more of them as Harry will be leaving the Manor. I know some of the last chapters weren't very good, but I wrote them at past midnight, which I suppose serves me right, but keep with me people the good part's on it's way and Hogwarts is not far off! This is going to be a long story, but the slash will be starting soon.**

**Next Chapter…Escape from the Dursleys. Harry leaves the Manor and travels with the gypsies, he learns one or two things about Jacob and reads an interesting article.**


	8. Escape from the Dursleys

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**AN: Slash starts here, don't like don't read. Just mention of slash at the moment no action, that will come later. No, Harry doesn't fancy Jacob, or at least not any more ;-)**

**Chapter 8**

**Escape from the Dursley's**

It was still dark out side as Harry helped Jacob and Gavin put the horses into wagon harnesses, his things had been put into Jacobs wagon which they would be sharing for the journey to Hogwarts, Harry had been uncertain about this at first, he didn't want to intrude on Jacob's privacy, but Jacob had assured him he had no problem with this at all and the wagons were generally shared between two anyway. The smaller horses that could not pull wagons were tied to the back of the wagons of tacked up to be ridden. Harry climbed up to sit next to Jacob who was holding the long reigns to steer the horses and there was a jolt as the wagons began to move. 

"So your Uncle and Aunt didn't mind you coming with us?" Jacob asked.

"Didn't ask them" Harry replied looking out over the dark rolling hills through the dull light, "I left them a note, they won't care" He had explained to Jacob about his living arrangement.

Jacob's eyebrow shot up "well then, nothing to worry about there then, so long as they don't send people with pitch forks after us", Jacob teased. Harry just laughed. "Well, it looks like it's just you, me and Oliver" Jacob announced.

"Huh?" Harry frowned. He must have missed something.

Jacob grinned and nodded to a large poster on the wall of the wagon room behind them. "Oliver Wood, famous Quidditch player. Such a dish, don't you think?" Jacob's smile broadened.

Harry was stunned at first, then a smile broke his face, "yes, I suppose he is." He had never told Jacob that he preferred men he thought that he might have a problem with it, that obviously wasn't going to be the case. Harry smiled to himself, although he had likes Jacob at first, he had a wonderful smile, he had come to realise he was more like a brother and that had put him off right away and hopefully judging by Jacob's liking for Oliver Wood, Harry wasn't Jacob's type. He smiled; still they could have a lot of fun discussing men.

"He was my Quidditch captain you know?" Harry told Jacob.

"Really?" Jacob exclaimed, obviously very taken with the brown-haired, blue-eyed keeper. Soon they were into a deep conversation over which Quidditch players were straight and which were defiantly player for the home team.

They had been travelling for two days and the storm was getting worse, they had pitched down for the night near a stream and Harry was helping Jacob secure the windows on their wagon. He was rapped in his think winter cloak (he had taken his Wizarding essentials with him to Scotland on the off chance he felt like running away again. It had been a good idea really), he pulled it tightly around him as the rain lashed down at him soaking his ankles and head. Gavin had shown him how to cast a water repelling charm on the cloak without using his wand (although he was now seventeen and could legally use magic outside of school, the order had warned him against using his wand as it could be traced). He peered through the thick rain towards Jay, as Harry had come to call him, who was yelling something at him.

"I think we'd better put a water repelling charm on the windows and doors too", Jacob shouted across the howling wind.

"OK!" Harry yelled back making his way round the wagon to the opposite side and casting the charm on the window. The horses had also been fitted with water repelling blankets and were now sheltering under a cluster of trees, wither way Harry felt very sorry for them, the water was icy cold and the wind ruthless.

"Come on!" Jay yelled holding the door open for him. Harry slipped through and pulled of the clock shaking his dripping wet hair out of his eyes which had grown noticeably longer since his trip to Scotland. He had also been able to get rid of the hideous glasses he had been forced to wear for almost 16 years, after going to Madam Pomfrey to get his eyes fixed last year, something he was very pleased about.

"This weathers horrible!" Jay exclaimed. "It's making the journey really slow, there's not enough day light to travel in."

"I know" Harry sighed, flicking through one of Jay's magazines. "I don't know what stops you going crazy in winter when it's raining all the time"

"Na, winters not so bad up here, its all snow so we can still go out and have fun as long as we wrap up" Jay grinned across at Harry who was sprawled on his stomach across Jacob's bed.

"The horses must be freezing though", Harry commented peering at a picture of the lead singer of the weird sisters, he wasn't sure if it was male or female.

"They'll be ok, their coats are starting to get thicker in winter and they build up fat so they don't get cold. Anyway, they're used to it" Jay peered over Harry's shoulder. "It's a she" he informed Harry grinning. "Oh! That reminds me there's an article here about your Headmaster and his gang, thought you might like to read it" Jay tossed Harry a copy of the 'Wizard's Underground' newspaper.

Harry looked down at the front page; it held a large picture of Albus Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling at fall force, next to him stood a very moody looking Snape, dressed as usual in his centuries-out-of-date black robes, his greasy hair had grown a bit and covered even more of his pale face.

"Quite a dish, don't you think?" Jay smirked over Harry's shoulder; he received a whack to the head with the newspaper.

"That is so wrong Jay!" Harry groaned, turning his attention back to the article.

"Who is he anyway?" Jay asked grabbing a pen and drawing a moustache on the moving picture, it scowled back at him, the moustache twitching in annoyance.

"My Potions Professor", replied Harry absentmindedly. "Jay! I'm trying to read this!" He protested as jay continued to disfigure the potion Master's face.

"Yer, yer", Jay waved a dismissive hand and retreated to the kitchen to gab a slice of toast.

**OFF HIS ROCKER OR REALLY A SAVOUIR IN DISGUISE?**

**_A question that seems to be so common in the wizarding world nowadays. Although Albus Dumbledore the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been proven to be genuine and reliable by his correct prediction of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's return and his many attempts to share information with the Ministry of Magic, Albus Dumbledore is still criticized by much of the wizarding world and seen to be somewhat of a doddery old half wit by the ministry._**

_**We look at why such allegations of incompetence are made against the esteemed and what truly heroic secrets the Headmaster and his associates may be hiding.**_

Harry's eye's skipped down to the box at the bottom of the page.

**On other pages**

**Albus Dumbledore's involvements with the department of ministries incident. P4**

**Are some of his associates to blame fore his bad reputation? P10**

**Harry Potter like a son to Albus Dumbledore? P15 **(Harry snorted at that one, not bloody likely, more like a pawn in his chess game).

While the first half of the first half of the newspaper seemed to be dedicated to the Headmaster and appraising him in all form, surprisingly enough the second half seemed to be dedicated to Snape and the author also seemed to be in favour of the Professor.

**Severus Snape: Death Eater or hero in disguise? P22**

**Severus Snape: a sad childhood. P26**

Harry's eyebrows shot up at that last article title, was this reporter nuts or did his Professor really have a less than perfect childhood. Harry flicked to the section on Snape and skimmed through the article. The information was surprisingly informed, it described the layout of the Death Eater ranks and many of the roles Harry knew Snape fulfilled for the Dark Lord such as brewing special potions, but it then went on to suggest that Snape was in fact a spy for Dumbledore and was part of a group called 'the Order of the Phoenix'.

Harry's pulse speed up, how did the author know all this, how did they know about the Order of the Phoenix? Did the Order know about the article already? Harry turned to the next article on Snape and skimmed through this as well:

_**Artamis Snape committed suicide… found by her ten-year-old son…shocking and disturbing…the eleven-year-old Severus showed signs of withdrawal preferring to study than socialise…his character becomes shadier…father died mysterious presumed to be poisoned…link with his son found.**_

So, thought Harry, Snape's mother committed suicide when he was ten and his father dies mysteriously when he's sixteen, well that goes some way to explaining why he became a Death Eater.

Harry skimmed through the rest of the paper, there were mentions of the Order and a list of people the author thought o be in it, he wasn't that far off although most of the names were minor order members with the exception of Dumbledore, Snape, Moody, Tonks, Aberforth Dumbledore and the Weasley's but that was enough. This was not good news for the order and especially not for Snape.

Harry rolled up the newspaper and tied it with sting attaching a small note:

_To the order,_

_I don't' know if any of you have read the latest edition of 'Wizarding Underground', Jacob tells me it isn't a very big newspaper, their information is surprisingly informed. Here is the copy of the paper; Professor Snape might find the later articles particularly interesting._

_Harry_

As an After thought Harry added:

_P.S. I'm travelling to Hogwarts with a group of Gypsies who claim to know Professor Dumbledore and had been granted permission to stay in Hogwarts grounds. See you soon._

Harry smiled just at the chaos that sentence would cause, Harry had forgotten to mention to that order that he was leaving the Dursley's, he had been hoping to conveniently forget until he arrived, at least this way Dumbledore would definitely read the article and Snape aggravated by his early arrival and 'disobedience to follow orders' would also read the article.

Harry changed and crawled into bed listening to the rain thunder down on the wooden roof, hopefully it would stop raining and he would be able to send Hedwig with the newspaper.

Harry turned to look at Jacob who was fast asleep across from him and had a lazy smile on his face; he wondered what Jay would think of Hogwarts.

**Chapter 9…Old Grandma Thyme. Harry learns more about magic, tells Jacob about his dream and gets a reply from the order.**


	9. Old Grandma Thyme

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**Chapter 9**

**Old Grandma Thyme**

The next day dawned bright and clear, there was dew on the grass and the air was crisp as if autumn had some early. The horses stood around grazing on the lush grass as Harry collected water from the nearby stream, pulling his cloak around him to keep the cold out. Families sat in groups on logs as they cooked breakfast from magically lit fires, leaving the ground below untouched. Harry returned to where Jacob and Gavin sat cooking bacon and egg.

"Here", Harry said pouring the water into a large copper pan to boil for drinking water.

"There some bread on the side for bacon sandwiches" Jay grinned at Harry.

"You're obsessed with Bacon, Jay" Harry laughed back grabbing a couple of sliced and filling them with bacon. A dog crept up behind Harry snatching a ration of Bacon from one hand. "Hey!" Cried Harry, glaring at the fuzzy brown dog which sat eating it lazily in front of him. A childish giggling came from behind him and Harry looked round to see Megan clutching her patchwork dress with one hand and giggling.

"Hello Meg", Harry called, smiling despite himself, he had grown fond of the small girl and enjoyed entertaining her with small magic tricks that Harry had learnt from Gavin and Jacob.

Megan grinned at Harry peering at him with her big blue eyes. "Flower! Flower!" She demanded. Harry laughed and held out a closed hand, he opened it to show a large rose bud, closing his eye he concentrated a small amount of magic into the flower and it bloomed into a beautiful red rose with held out to Megan, who squealed with enthusiasm and took the bulb and ran off to find her grandma, her mother had died a year ago and her father had been a wizard.

"She adores you", Jay told him knowingly, "you'll have to watch out or you'll have her all over you we she gets a bit older". Harry laughed and whacked Jay over the head.

A large ball of white feathers landed on Harry's shoulder and stole some of his breakfast. "Hello girl, I wondered when you were going to join us, been as the Burrow again have you?" Hedwig gave him a peak on the ear. "I'll take that as a yes then, I have something for you", Harry grabbed the newspaper and letter he had written the night before and attached it to Hedwig's leg. "You know where to take that don't you?" Hedwig made a cooing noise and took off towards the south; he knew that she would not reach her destination for a day or so, so he would have a few days of peace at least.

"What are they saying? Can you hear anything?" Ginny whispered to Ron, who was using an extendable ear to listen under the door to the order meeting they had not been allowed into.

"No, they must be using a silencing charm around the room again. I don't understand what could be so important that they have to wake everyone up in the middle of the night and not let us join them!" Ron ranted, scowling at the door.

"Honestly Ron. I doubt its anything that important at all, I expect Dumbledore's just trying to remind us that we're still students by deliberately excluding us" Ginny said scowling.

"I bet he wouldn't have shut us out if Harry were here!" Ron added.

"Oh. It's you two." A bushy-haired shadow joined them at the bottom of the star case. "It's know point I heard them casting a silencing charm earlier."

"What's this, Miss goody-two-shoes using extendable ears?" Ron teased, Hermionie blushed and rolled her eyes.

Suddenly the door banged open and Snape flew out his black cape billowing behind him. "Insufferable Brat!" He snarled storming up the stairs a newspaper clutched in one hand. The three glanced nervously at each other.

"What's he done this time?" Ginny mouthed to Ron, who shrugged. Professor McGonagall, Tonks, Remus and Bill Weasley shortly followed Snape. None of them seemed surprised to see the three standing outside. "What's going on Bill?" Ginny asked the longhaired man.

"Harry's run away again", Bill told them dully. Ron and Hermione groaned. "Dumbledore wants to talk to you three and Neville and Luna as well." He said before moving towards the door with the rest of the group to leave.

"I'll go get them," Ginny said running up the stairs as Ron and Hermione cautiously entered the living room of the Black House. Dumbledore was standing near the window; the rest of the order had left except for Molly and Arthur Weasley who remained, looking very worried. Ginny arrived with Neville and Luna in tow.

"As I'm sure you've just been informed, Harry is no-longer in the care of the Dursley's" Dumbledore informed then gravely, looking down at them over the top of his half moon glasses.

"Do you know where his is, Sir?" Hermione asked somewhat un-phased by the Headmasters gaze.

"We believe he is on his way to Hogwarts", Dumbledore continues surveying them. "I would like to know that none of you had any contact with Harry about his proposal to leave the care of the Dursley's?" At once they all shock their heads, it had not been a complete surprise to them, not with Harry's past history, but none of them had any forewarning.

"No, Sir" Ron replied, "the last letter we had from him was about a week ago, saying he was enjoying himself and that he had met some gypsies". He looked at the headmaster nervously. "He also said he'd had a strange dream, but he'd tell us about when he saw us"

"A vision?" Dumbledore prompted.

"No, he said it was more like a nightmare, but it wasn't." Hermione added.

Dumbledore frowned at this, then signed. "Alright, you are free to leave".

They began to file out when Luna turned to look at the Headmaster. "What was Professor Snape so made about? He was mumbling something about an "Insufferable Brat" when he stormed past us, I assume he was referring to Harry?" She asked gazing at the headmaster. A twinkle seemed to return to his eyes.

"Ah," he said, "I believe he did not approve of Mr. Potter's artistic flare", the headmaster replied gravely.

Life with the gypsies was most enjoyable, the weather had cleared up and Harry had made many new friends. He was currently grooming Taz while watching a group of young children play hide and seek amongst the trees. They were preparing for a hand fasting tonight, a pagan wedding. While not all of the gypsies were religious and one or two followed other religions, the majority of them were Pagan. Jacob had explained to him about the faith and the eight festivals of the year, it seemed a nice religion to follow, full of life. The couple to be married where young, only couple pf years older than himself and Jacob, the bride was called Jasmine and groom Peter, Harry had met them briefly and Jasmine was Megan's aunt.

Megan ran up to him and grabbed his hand "Come on Harry!" She said pulling him towards the trees, "Meet my Grandma!" She cried.

Harry smiled down at the soon to be Flower girl, something Megan was very excited about. He followed her into the woods to a small clearing that was being decorated for the wedding. An old Lady with long grey hair dressed in a very battered but colourful dress was sitting on a log sawing some embroidery onto a white dress.

"Grandma!" Megan called to her, "This is Harry". The old Lady smiled up at him knowingly.

"Nice to meet you Harry. Come and take a seat, my name is Grandma Thyme" She said patting the log next to him. "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready young lady?" She asked Megan, who nodded enthusiastically and ran off towards the Wagons.

"So, they tell me that you've been learning some of our magic tricks" She said with a warm smile.

"Yes," Harry replied, "I enjoy it more than using a wand".

"Show me. " The Grandma thyme said nodding to a closed flower bud hanging from one of the wedding garlands. Harry held out his hand and manipulated the magic it was emitting letting it flow through him and making the bud spring to life.

"Hmm, very good" She replied, continuing with her sawing. "You do realise that few wizards can manage our magic, don't you?"

This surprised Harry; he had found it easy enough once he worked out how to manipulate things. "No, I didn't" he replied, truthfully.

"Never been one for following the trend have you?" She smiled at him warmly, "Have they explained how it works?"

"No" Harry shook his head, the theory behind it had not been discussed; Gavin had just told him what to focus on or think about.

"It's not just wandless magic you see, some wizards can do that, but with little power behind it and in limited ways. Its using living magic, raw magic from around us from nature, we work with nature to create magic. In some ways this limits us, we can't magically put a car together or clean a cauldron. But we can manipulate anything in nature, with force far more powerful than most wizards." Grandma Thyme explained.

"I think I get that", Harry said nodding, "So we can manipulate the four elements; Earth, Air, Fire and Water, in anyway?"

"As well as lightning and other forms of nature, but yes those are the four main varieties. You seem to work well, with earth and water, have you tried fire and air?" She asked with a measuring look.

Harry concentrated on his outstretched had and managed to conjure up a ball of green flames, "I guess that's a yes to fire", he said, banishing the ball of flames. He then concentrated on the ground in front of him and imagined a circling wind and sure enough in front of him the leaves began to kick up in a small circle a mini tornado was formed. "That would be a yes to air as well". Harry replied, pleased with himself.

Grandma Thyme seemed pleased as well, she seemed to know a lot though Harry, suddenly he though about tell her about his strange dreams and decided that maybe she could explain them to him. She seemed very thoughtful about this the one about the tigers did not seem to surprise her, but the second one puzzle her greatly.

"I do not know my dear. I think maybe the first is a vision from the future, a very ominous thought I'm afraid, I may of course be wrong it may be something else entirely, but this second one I'm not so sure." She mused, "Now dear you must go and get ready for this evening and I must finish this wedding dress or my daughter will not be happy, will she?" She said, smiled at him. Harry nodded and left the woods to change into his green suit, he had outgrown his dress robes from fourth year.

The wedding was a beautiful one, Harry had never been to a wedding, so he presumed that most weddings were beautiful, but everything seemed so alive, there was magic everywhere. After the ritual there was a great feast and much dancing, and for Jacob and Harry, a little too much alcohol. Late into the night they partied and Jacob pulled Harry aside to a where a group were entertaining themselves by skrying in a large bowl of water.

"Here! Let the beautiful boy have a go!" Jay called, making Harry blush and laugh at Jay's drunken antics, "Come on lets do a love one for your perfect match. Peer into the water and concentrate on happiness and love and all that!" jay commended Harry. Harry laughed and fell onto his knees in front of the bowl and peered into it. He took a breath and concentrated really hard. Suddenly his vision clouded over and the bowl became like a pensive, a shadowy figure sat in a large chair in front of a stone fire, it was a man he had long black hair and pale skin and was reading something, he had a glass in one had which was filled with what looked like alcohol, he took a sip and frowned. Suddenly the figure became all to familiar and Harry let out a cry and the vision melted.

"What's wrong Harry?" Jay asked looking at him, "Did you see anything?"

"I think I did it wrong!" Harry told him forlornly, "I saw Snape!"

Jay and Harry looked at each other then burst out laughing. Harry grinned to himself; life was great.

**Chapter 10…. Under Attack! Harry's journey to Hogwarts concludes and the gypsies run into trouble on the way!**


	10. Under Attack

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**Chapter 10**

**Under Attack**

Today was the first of September, The first day of school, they had yet to reach Hogwarts as the bad weather had so far held the back, the break in the rain lasting only long enough for the hand fasting. Gavin had assured him that they were not far away from Hogwarts now and should reach the castle by sundown in time for the welcoming feast. Harry didn't especially mind if he was late, but he had manage to miss the beginning of the welcoming feast many times and did not like to be late again. Since supplies were running low and only magical supplies could be purchased from Hogsmeade, Jacob and Harry had offered to ride ahead to the small village of Bellmory that was slightly off their route to buy supplies. The hills here were much bigger, some could even be considered mountains and the countryside was wild with few villages and scarcely trodden roads.

Harry waved goodbye to Megan as the Wagons began to move away from their night's campsite and Harry mounted Taz. "Race you!" Jay called cantering of to the east across wild purple heather towards a large ridge. Harry laughed and followed in pursuit, he enjoyed this simple life so much, he though smiling to himself, but still, it would be nice to get in touch with the wizarding world again.

Around lunchtime Harry and Jay arrived at the village of Bellmory, it was very small with a few farms scattered about the hill, a village school, church and shop. They dismounted the horses and tied them outside the shop. The middle-aged shopkeeper kept an eye on them at all times while they collected the things on their shopping list, Harry felt disgusted that the women trusted them any less than any of her other costumers, but then realised that before he had met Jacob and the rest of their group, he probably would have held the same prejudices.

Jacob paid the lady at the till and thanked her with his famous dashing smile, the women was considerable warmer to them after that and wished them a good journey. Jacob and Harry took the horses to the village common and let them graze while they ate their lunch. Clouds were beginning roll across the blue sky and the light began to dim. Storms coming, Harry thought.

"Look!" Jay pointed to the south where a snowy owl was soaring towards them. "It's Hedwig, she's got a letter for you". Hedwig landed on the ground next to Harry and he detached the letter from her outstretched leg and pulled it from the envelope.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_It seems that you have once again managed to disrupt the magical blood ties with your family; this situation is unfortunate, but unavoidable. I do not need to remind you of the danger you are in while you are outside the grounds of Hogwarts, however I trust that you are in good company and protection, do not stray far from your group and keep alert at all times. I will hope to have the pleasure of your company by no later than September 1st, when we will discus your interesting night visions. _

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_P.S. I suggest you improve on your drawing past time, Professor Snape was less than impressed by you current artistic ability._

Harry groaned, "great, school hasn't even started yet and he's already mad with me!"

"Who? The headmaster?" Jay asked, leaning over his shoulder to read the letter.

"No, Snape." Harry replied in pure misery, "He saw your doodles, he's going to make my life a living hell!" Harry dropped his head into his hands. This was going to be a terrible year, he could just tell.

It had begun to rain as Harry and Jacob mounted the horse laden with full saddlebags and made their way out of the village towards the wild countryside once more.

"You sure you know where we're going?" Harry asked Jay nervously as he peered up at the black thunderclouds and pulled on his winter cloak and a pair of gloves.

"Yes, Uncle Gavin gave me this." Jay held out a small metal contraption with a needle, a bit like a muggle compass, except this one was obviously magical. "It homes into the biggest mass of magic around, which in this part of the world is Hogwarts." He explained. Harry nodded and began to canter as they headed out of the valley following the direction of the compass.

Rain lashed down and wind howled around the precession of wagons, it was late afternoon, yet it looked like nighttime it was so dark, it was impossible to see more than a meter or two in front of them the rain was so dense. They were not far from Hogsmeade now only a couple of miles away. A flash of lightning hit the ground to their right and the echoing of the thunder was deafening to the ears, something was coming, the horses were nervous, the people even more nervous. Gavin peered out at the road ahead; he hoped Jacob and Harry returned soon, there was something dangerous about, something looking for them.

Snape sat at the table in the staff room absently listening to the rain hitting the window, it was a horrible day, quite depressing, the meeting he was sitting through even more so. It reminded him of the fact that in four hours time the students would be arriving along with Harry Potter, bane of his existence. Retched boy, he was always getting himself in trouble and Severus was always the one to have to get him out of it. He gazed out of the window, his letter had been most interesting, he was travelling with gypsies, well it could never be said that the boy was normal. Severus himself had had his fair share of dealings with gypsies, he'd dealt with nearly everything in his time, but Harry was a different matter all together; he seemed to attract trouble. No, no, Severus had to admit there was something unusual about the boy, something that made him stand out and something that aggravated him no end, Severus thought frowning.

The meeting ploughed on they, seemed to cover everything from what to do if a child had a noise bleed in your class, to who would be arranging which part of the Christmas ball, something Severus had every intention of avoiding, social events really weren't his thing. The sky outside began to darken and Severus noted there were only two hours left before the insurable brats arrived. Suddenly something in the air began to change, there seemed to be an electric charge that warned of danger, he looked up from the speck of dust he had been scowling at to glace at the headmaster. Yes, he too seemed to have noticed the difference.

"Is it just me or is it a bit chilly in here?" Professor Flitwick squeaked.

"No, Filius, its not you" Dumbledore replied, gazing solemnly out of the window into the dense rain.

The rain was pouring down once again, water vapour rouse from Taz's black coat as the horse cantered below him heating his body. They could barely see a meter in from of them, the rain was so dense and lightning occasionally hit the ground, the thunder rolling round the mountains deafened them. They had been riding for hours and the rain had been showering down on them since lunchtime, Harry was frozen, he was sure Jay was too.

"We're not far now!" Jay yelled across to him, "we should meet up with the wagon's soon!"

Harry nodded, he was growing uneasy, there was something in the air, something he couldn't put his finger on but it was making him nervous, he wanted to get back to the wagons and fast.

"Come on!" Harry yelled, pushing Taz into a gallop, he was very tired but nervous as well and complied with Harry's request and moved faster.

Suddenly there was a voice on the wind, a screaming. Harry looked over at Jay, who was slightly behind him. Jay's expression showed fear as he yelled at Harry through the rain.

"Death Eater's!" He cried, voicing Harry's own fears, he pushed Taz faster. They raced at fall speed down the gravel path kicking up mud and stones as water poured down Harry's face and neck and blinded him, his heart was thumping in his chest as dread washed through him. Jay was hot on his heels as the rounded a sharp bend in the path and joined a larger road.

Up ahead, Harry could make out flashes of light through the stormy light the screaming was louder than before as they approached. A bolt of fire flashed across the dark sky hitting a large shadowy shape below, a horse whickered and galloped past in a terrified state. They could now see the wagons up ahead; two were surrounded in orange flames, lighting up the night's sky. People were running for cover, two men were pulling horses loose from the burning wagons and a women ran pulling a screaming children away from the open ground as another bolt of fire hit the ground. Suddenly there was a roaring sound from behind them, approaching from the south. Harry drew his wand and Jay raised one hand ready for an attack as they peered through the lashing rain waiting for a sign. Slowly large fly objects came into view, the gypsies had joined together in a group and held up their arms chanting as a barrier of glowing blue energy appeared above them, others were helping the wounded or hurling their own flames at the approaching objects.

The death eaters were gaining on them fast, they were flying on the backs of large purple-black tigers with red eyes, huge bat-like wings and serpent tipped tails, they made a screeching noise like an eagle as they swooped down upon them, talons outstretched like they were picking their prey. The death eaters jeered at them from above as their creatures swooped towards the group and fire rained down on them from the dark sky above, yet they could not breach the barrier holding them back, parted them from their prey, but the damage had already been done and reinforcements would be on their way.

Spurring the horse on he galloped into the night, breaching the barrier and making for the open ground ahead, death eaters hot on his heals. He could here Jay close behind him, covering Harry by hurling balls of flame at the beasts above. He knew that Hogwarts was not far ahead; he could see the lights of Hogsmeade to their right so the gates of Hogwarts should come into view soon.

I'm cruel!  Hoped you liked this chapter, he next should have some action in it too. Chapter 11… Late Arrivals. Harry and Jay retrieve help for the group, Harry makes an impression and is late to the welcoming feast once again! 


	11. Late Arrival

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**Chapter 11**

**Late Arrival**

"Come on Neville!" Ginny called from the carriage she Ron, Hermione and Luna had grabbed. The brown haired boy stumbled into the seat next to Ginny clutching a toad between two hands.

"He always does this", Neville replied gloomily, "you'd think he'd stay put 'cause he likes Hogwarts, but oh no, he has to cause a fuss".

Ginny smiled at him lovingly, "He's probably just nervous, you said he doesn't like lots of people around and Malfoy would make anyone nervous", she teased. Neville smiled back gratefully as the carriage began to move and they made their way through Hogsmeade to the castle.

"What was that?" Hermione asked peering out of the carriage window into the stormy weather.

"What?" mumbled Ron, stuffing another chocolate frog into his already overloaded mouth.

Hermione threw a disgusted look over her shoulder at him the pointed through the window at the sky. "Look! There it goes again! That flashing, it looks like fire. Look there's blue light too!"

Ron leaned over to look out of the window nervously, "it's coming from the road the other side of Hogsmeade? Do you think its Death Eaters? An attack on Hogwarts!"

"I can see something. It looks like there's something big in the sky, can you see what it is?" Neville asked pressing his face against the pane of glass.

"No, I hope everything's ok" Hermione replied as the carriage turned towards the gates of Hogwarts and they could no longer see the lights from the road.

As Harry and Jay tore through the gates of Hogwarts, the beasts above them stopped, hanging behind the gates them flames were stopped in mid flight, held back by an invisible barrier around Hogwarts, but one magical flame had sliced across his side before he crossed the threshold and the pain burned at him. Harry continued towards the castle, Jay in tow. As they neared the castle, the wooden doors flew open, Professor Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall and several member orders poured out.

Harry and Jay pulled up short in front of the group. "What happen Harry?" Dumbledore asked quickly walking swiftly beside him as Harry dismounted.

"Death Eaters, Sir! They're attacking the Gypsies!" Harry replied pushing his long wet hair out of his eyes.

"All right Harry," Dumbledore said gravely, pulling out his wand the twinkle leaving his eyes. "You stay here! Professor Flitwick, could you get ready to great the student, they will be arriving shortly."

The order members turned and ran off toward the gates, Snape gave him a loathing look before following them, the fire in his onyx eyes made Harry shiver, he was in so much trouble when Snape came back. He frowned indignantly at the thought of Dumbledore ordering him to stay behind, these people had become like family to him, even if he had know them for little over a fortnight. There was a noise behind him as Jay turned his horse around and began to move off.

"Hey!" Shouted Harry, throwing caution to the wind and throwing himself up onto his black horse and riding after Jay. "Wait for me!"

They soon arrived back at the wagons, the order had joined forces with the gypsies as they held the protective barrier above the wagons and threw curses up at the Death Eaters who rode the black and purple beasts throwing flames and curses at them.

"I thought the headmaster told you to remain inside the grounds Mr. Potter", snarled a familiar voice from his right, more Death Eaters had arrived on foot and had entered the barrier and duels had sprung up around Harry. Snape was currently duelling with a death eater to his right, Harry wasn't surprised to see he was using a glamour to hide his face from the Death Eater, he knew it to be Snape thought, he'd recognise that sneer anywhere.

The gypsies were holding their own, it was true that while they couldn't hurl curses at their opponents they were using the fall force of nature. Harry looked to his right to see a small boy conjure up a huge pile of rocks over the head of a Death Eater and let them knock him out, balls of fire flew about viciously and mini tornados and bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere. Harry hurled a glowing ball of flames at the Death Eater duelling with Snape; being on top of Taz gave him the advantage of seeing more than those on the ground. Snape looked up at him in surprise as the Death Eater was knocked backwards and caught fire; he was quickly stunned as Snape continued to give him a measuring look, one eyebrow raised.

Suddenly Harry heard a familiar scream to his right. "Megan", he breathed tearing his eyes from Snape to see a Death Eater grabbing her around the waist and pulled away. A terrible rage built up in him and Harry took of towards the Death Eater, Taz nimbly dodged the burning debris that lay on the ground, as he neared the Death Eater he held out his hand and conjured up a hundred shards of razor sharp ice that shot towards the Death Eater holding Megan captive, the girl screamed at the oncoming arrows, but they passed around her sinking themselves deeply into the monster holding her. As the Death Eater slumped to the ground dead, he released his grip on Megan who fell to the group in a quivering heap, he canter up to her and bent down, scooping her up to sit in front of him on Taz's back, on arm slung around her waist he wrapped his cloak around her protectively.

Around him the Death Eaters were falling and the battle became less intense as the remaining Death Eaters on the ground retreated along with those riding the magical beasts in the skies above. Harry could see that along with the fallen Death Eaters there were some bodies of the gypsies as well. A tall dark man in a old velvet top hat lent peering over the body of the recently wedded woman; her husband lay beside her a pained expression of his face. He was alive but badly wounded. Harry climbed down from the horse taking his cloak off and wrapping it around Megan, telling her to hold on tight.

"Here." Harry said, pulling a blanket from the nearest wagon to wrap round the man.

"Clear the bed in the wagon", the tall man said, pulling out a wand and levitating the wounded man.

Harry continued to help the wounded until the ground was cleared and the wagons harnessed and ready to move. He spotted Jacob at the back of the precession, driving his uncle's wagon; an older man drove his own.

"Where's Gavin?" Harry asked concerned.

"He's in the wagon, he'll be ok", Jay replied his eyes clouded with sadness, they had lost five of the group in total and many had been wounded. The painful twinge in his side, reminded Harry that he had injuries of his own. Stopping for a moment he took out his wand and conjured up a bandage, he wrapped this around his mid section, wincing at the pain it caused, and then mounted the horse behind Megan continuing with the precession towards Hogwarts keeping a sharp lookout.

When they arrived at Hogwarts the wagons were pitched by the lake, the horses set free and the wounded taken to the Hospital wing, while the rest of the group were brought to a large room across from the Great Hall, where a large amount of food and a warm fire awaited them. After making sure that Megan was all right, Harry cast a drying charm on himself before returning to the Great Hall. As he pushed open the door of the hall, Dumbledore, who had obviously been making an announcement feel quite, maybe he should have been a bit quicker, Harry thought, noting that all the teachers where already seated at the head table, he had only stopped to talk to Jay. Harry looked down as he quickly made his way to sit next to Ron and Hermione at the Griffindor's table, apparently he'd missed the sorting, he hated making an entrance, thought Harry scowling. He quickly sat down, aware of a pair of onyx eyes boring into the back of his head.

**Chapter 12…Mr. Petasus. We are introduced to a new character and Harry fills his friends in on recent happenings. **


	12. Mr Petasus

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**Chapter 12**

**Mr. Petasus**

Mr. Petasus was a tall, dark man, who Harry guessed to be in his mid-thirties. He had blue eyes with a small black goatee to match his hair, his right ear sported a small gold stud and he wore a long close-fitting, well-worn, traditional black coat with trousers to match. Harry also caught a glimpse of a black shirt under his midnight blue waistcoat, which looked by far his newest item of clothing, obviously bought to make an impression. To finish the look, a once-expensive velvet top hat had been placed on top of his neatly cropped hair and his right-hand clutched an elegant cane.

He gave a small bow at the scattered applause that had broken out amongst the many mutterings, his eyes sweeping the four tables assessing the students who had the daring to applaud, his eyes met Harry's and Harry gave a small smile and was pleased to see the man gave a nod of recognition back. Finally, Mr. Petasus took his place again and the headmaster called for silence once more.

"On a more serious note, I am sure I do not need to remind anyone of the seriousness of the situation the wizarding world is presently in." The headmaster peered over his half-moon glasses as he surveyed the students his eyes resting on the slytherin table as he continued. "Every student here has the full protection of myself the staff and keepers at Hogwarts and is guaranteed safety within her grounds. I therefore ask you not to stray out of her grounds at anytime without a teacher present and remind you that the Forbidden Forest is just that; forbidden." The Headmaster looked at the grimly his eyes loosing some of their sparkle, finally his head turned to where the golden-trio sat and his eyes met Harry's.

"While I say this every year, there are always students who do not take heed of my warning, any student who ventures within the forest may not only find themselves in serious trouble with members of staff, but will be outside the protection of Hogwarts and I can give you no guarantee for your safety." The Headmaster concluded.

"On a final note I would like to add that Hogwarts grounds are currently playing host to a group of travellers. This is to be their home for the foreseeable future and you will treat them with the same respect you treat anyone else within Hogwarts", His eyes rested on the Slytherin table, "if not more." Finally the Headmaster straightened his back, that mysterious twinkle reappearing in his eyes.

"Now I'm sure you're all as hungry as a hippogriff! Tuck in!" Waving his hands towards the tables, Professor Dumbledore took his place as golden plates filled with delicious food filled the tables.

Ron began his ritual grabbing of as much food as possible, while Hermionie told him off for being a pig as Harry filled his own plate with pork pie and potatoes, he truly loved the food at Hogwarts, speaking of which, he really ought to go and see Dobby at some point and ask him where he had gone for his summer. Last year he had somehow visited Disneyland in disguise, the excitement had almost killed him and Ron had spent the next couple of weeks trying to explain to Dobby that Mickey Mouse was just a muggle dressed up in a costume and not a new magical species of giant talking mice. Harry had given up almost immediately, knowing they would be fighting a loosing battle and Ron had soon seen sense and backed down.

Harry moved in his seat and winced slightly as he irritated the cut on his side his hand pressing down on the make-shift cotton bandage wrapped around ribs, he should really get it looked at as soon as the welcoming feast finished, he mused.

"So, what happened?" Dean asked, unable to resist any longer, the rest of the Gryffindors lent forward to listen in. Harry looked up at the questioning looks, what he should tell them. Again, he became away of a pair of onyx eyes boring into his back.

"We saw fire and lots of coloured light in the air." Hermione prompted.

"And large black shapes in the sky!" Neville added, glancing at Harry fearfully.

"I was travelling with the gypsies, we were attacked by Death Eaters" Harry told them; he didn't think the information could do any damage. "Some of the Death Eater were riding some kind of magical creatures, they were like tigers, with purple-black fur and big bat-like wings" Harry screwed his face up in thought. "They also had red eyes and tails like serpents, and talons instead of paws on their back legs."

Neville shuddered. "They sound horrible!"

"Ales Bestia, Winged Beast. One of the darkest creatures of animal creation. They are often known to befriend those of sinister nature and make very loyal pets. Their fierce and dangers, but not especially intelligent. They are also extremely rare." Hermione said, spreading butter over her jacket potato. A round of 'oww's' and 'ahhh's' rouse from the Griffindors around them.

"How many were there Harry?"

"Did anyone get killed?"

"Did you get any Death Eaters?"

"Was You-Know-Who there?"

The constant stream of questions came from the surrounding Griffindors lasted the whole evening, while the other houses listened in to the answers Harry gave. The Slytherin's seemed pleased and Malfoy was openly smirking across at Harry, although he did not seem overly happy at all the attention Harry was receiving.

Eventually the conversation turned to the rest of the summers events and Harry told Ron and Hermione all about his summer with the gypsies and his trip to Scotland (he decided to leave out certain conversations he'd had with Jacob along with the love skrying incident), and they filled him in on the meetings he'd missed and Snape's "hissy fit", as Ron had called it. Harry groaned, Dumbledore hadn't been joking when he said that Snape hadn't appreciated his current artistic abilities, it was highly unfair, it had been Jacob who'd disfigured Snape's picture, not him!

**Chapter 13…? We enter the second part of my story, life at Hogwarts, this should get more interesting and I know the slash is going Very slowly for those of you reading for this, but I wanted to make this a long story and really get into it, Harry will start to look towards his Professor and more action from the Death Eaters will be about. Thanks for reading!**

**My special thanks goes to:**

**eyeinthesky ()….thanks for you review!**


	13. Not His Type

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

AkashaWinters 

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**Chapter 13**

Not His Type 

Harry woke to the feel of warmth, a tingle of magic fan through him making him shiver. He slowly opened his eyes, staring up at the crimson bed hangings above him. Today was Saturday and the morning after the welcoming feast, Harry felt tired, but also revived. It was good to be back at Hogwarts, he thought, breathing in the musky scent of the centuries old castle and feeling electrified by the tendrils of magic that curled around him.

Sitting up, he pulled back the hangings to see it was still dark outside and his roommates where fast asleep; a glance at his watch told him it was six o'clock. This did not surprise him in the slightest, he had gotten used to the long days the gypsies held and hence waking up shortly before sunrise. He slipped out of bed and grabbed his riding clothes; he was keen to check that everything was going smoothly with his surrogate family and whether Gavin had been realised from the Hospital wing. He noticed his trunk and school things that had been left behind at the Dursley's had been placed at the foot of the bed, he would have to thank Dobby for that. Looking in the bathroom mirror as he pulled off his nightshirt something caught his eye.

"Looks like you've gone and hurt yourself again deary, and you've only been here less than a day!" The mirror chided him.

Harry scowled at it, "It's not like I did it deliberately!" he snapped. "Besides, it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Hmm", the mirror replied sceptically.

Harry frowned; it was true. Despite the fact the cut had been big and fairly deep and the badly wrapped bandaging was stained a deep crimson colour, as was his nightshirt, it no longer pained him. Pulling the bandage off, Harry inspected the cut. There was a large amount of dried blood, but no more blood was coming out. Taking a wet cloth, Harry gingerly wiped away the blood, what he found astonished him. The cut which had originally been about three inches long and very thick was now no more than a small cut, a couple of centimetres long. Harry frowned again; this really was strange.

Applying a s plaster to the cut, Harry quickly dressed, tied his now shoulder length hair back (it really had grown very fast) and threw his winter cloak on as he made him way out of the Griffindor tower and towards the exist of the castle. As he arrived at the great hall, he continued past it and on towards the main doors; it was too early for breakfast to be served and although he could stop off for breakfast in the kitchens, he had become accustomed to his morning routine with the gypsies and decided to have breakfast with them.

The gypsies were camped up in a quite spot of the grounds between the forest and the lake with the open hills behind them and the castle in front. Harry arrived to find several families setting up fires for breakfast as the sun just began to break the horizon. The grass was covered in dew and the air crisp. The horses had been let loose and grazed by the lakeside; it all seemed peaceful and quite now, if a little gloomy. The only testimony to the previous night's events were the remains of the two burned wagons which stood near the forest, like a memorial, the four dead bodies had been wrapped in sheets and placed inside until the funeral that evening.

"Hi Harry!" Jay said brightly, coming over to meet him. "I wasn't sure if you were gonna come join us now you're back with you're friends."

"Don't be silly, of course I want to join you." Harry replied smiling at Jay's delight at being told this. He face then became more solemn as he looked at Jay closely, "How's your uncle?"

"He's doing fine," Jay said with a sigh, "He broke his leg and though that nurse of your fixed it up well, he's not supposed to be walking around much so its gonna be a bit difficult for the next couple of days." He said heavily. "The others are doing ok too, but Old Grandma Thyme's still in the hospital wing, that nurse won't let her go, says she's not well enough yet. She'll be fine though, she can live through anything! She told me she once had scarlet fever when she was twelve. Her family couldn't do anything for her so they took her to a muggle doctor, they told her she'd be dead in two days, but she's outlived them all!" Jay said with a grin.

"Common let's get breakfast".

While Jay set some bacon up to fry, Harry went to collect some water from the nearby stream. As he arrived back at their blue wagon, a blur of multicoloured careered into him.

"HARRY! HARRY! HARRY!" The blur of colours cried hugging him tightly round the waist.

"Hello Meg!" Harry laughed, setting down the pot of water and picking up the four-year-old girl. "How are you?"

Megan gave him a bright smile, which wobbled a bit the dropped as silent tears came flooding from her eyes. "I miss my auntie."

Harry looked down at big blue sparkling eyes sadly and pulled the small girls head into his shoulder, stroking her long blonder hair softly. "I'm sorry Megan." He whispered.

Harry had always presumed that the fates had been unduly harsh to him. His parents had dies before he knew them, he had grown up with a family that did not care for him and shortly after getting to know his godfather, he had also been murdered, not to mention, chosen one and all that jazz. But looking down at the small girl held protectively in his arms he knew that the fates had been worse to Megan. She was four years old and already she had neither parent (her mother had died and her father was never known to her), she had lost not only her aunt, but her aunt's newly wedded husband and her grandma, as strong a women as she was lay very ill in the school's hospital wing. No wonder the poor child was scarred and miserable.

"Hi, Meg!" Jay called, "Ready for some breakfast?" Megan nodded and Harry let her down so she could run over to grab some bacon. "She's staying with me and uncle Gavin," Jay explained, "She doesn't have any other family."

After breakfast had been cleared and Harry had helped Jay collect water for the rest of the day, Harry went over to where his horse (as he had know come to think of him), was grazing.

"Hey boy, how 'bout you and me go for a ride?" he asked. The black horse whinnied tossing its mane as it stood waiting for him to mount. "I need to get you bridal first", Harry told the horse patting it.

The horse whinnied again, tossing its head and stamping its front foot. Harry peered at the horse, trying to determine what it was telling him. "Ok, but don't you even think about throwing me off!" Taz rubbed his large forehead against Harry's arm affectionately.

"Alright, alright." He rolled his eyes and pulled himself onto the horse's back. Winding his fingers into the silky black mane he pushed the horse forwards into a canter as the rode along the tree line of the Forbidden Forest. Harry laughed at the feel of the cool breeze flying across his body lifting his black cloak up behind him and pulling his hair lose of its binding, he felt so alive he found it almost suffocating, but at the same time relieving. Finally they turned to wards the castle and they slowed as they reached the castle doors, gradually they came to a halt and Harry slid off. The sun had now risen clear of the horizon telling Harry it was breakfast time at the castle. Giving the horse one last pat he watched it buck playfully then gallop away back towards the campsite.

As he entered the great hall, he spotted Ron and Hermione at the Griffindor table and he slipped into the empty seat next to them.

"Morning", he said, securing hair off his face once again.

"You look very different like that you know Harry", Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Hmmm?" Harry asked, absently as he gazed at the Slytherin table, they seemed to be acting out the attack last night. Draco was pretending to throw fire at Goyle, who pretended to die.

"Ignore them Harry" Ron said, glaring at them angrily.

"That's easy for you to say, you weren't there," Harry replied grimly. Hermione smiled sympathetically. "Anyway," Harry said quickly, trying to change the subject, "What were you saying Hermione?"

She blushed slightly as Harry turned his emerald green eyes onto her. "Er, I think you hair looks nice like that…it makes you look older".

Ron gave Harry a dirty look, as though Harry's hair had offended him. "Oh for goodness sake Ron!" Hermione snapped, "I really don't think I'm his type." She gave her boyfriend an exasperated look. Harry blanched at this; he had yet to tell his friends what his preferences were, although he had thought that Hermione might have guessed.

"Oh yer? Really?" Ron said aggressively, giving Harry a challenging look.

"Oh Ron! You idiot! Its obvious Harry's Gay!" She yelled at him, a murderous look on her face. The hall went dead silent, the only noise being Harry's head connecting with the wooden table in front of him.

**Mwahahahaha! I'm so evil. Awww, poor Harry.**

**Chapter 14…You What? The reactions of the rest of the school, and a funeral. **

**Special thanks go to:**

**MirreZ - glad you're enjoying it!**


	14. You What?

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. Also for this page, A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**Chapter 14**

**You What?**

The silence was suffocating; the only noise was the slight scraping of chairs as those from other houses strained to catch a sight of Harry's face which was hidden behind his curtain of black hair. Even though his eyes were shielded he new that every single person was looking his way, including the staff. Harry let out a muffled groan, breaking the silence, whispers began to grow louder and then the noise increased into full out uproar.

Harry lifted his head and parted his black curtain peering angrily at his so-called 'friends'. Hermione's hand covered her mouth; she had turned a sickly green and looked as if she'd just seen a dementor giving Harry a kiss. Ron looked in deep shock, as if he didn't know how to react. Both were sitting rigidly still.

"Thanks 'Mione", he said gloomily.

"Oh, Harry. I'm so sorry!" Hermione whispered miserably. Harry sighed and shook his head.

"It's not your fault, I should have talked to you guys about it ages ago." He said turning to Ron to assess his reaction. He seemed less shocked, but had a strange look on his face. "Are we ok?"

Ron still eyed him with that strange look. He opened his mouth uncertainly when a loud arrogant drawl reached his ears. "Oh Potter, you dirty fag! You should have told me you shagged Lockhart, I would have offered to take a fan-photo for you!"

Harry turned to see Malfoy standing behind him, one arm round Pansy. He looked like Christmas had gone early. Harry felt the bottom of his stomach fall out when it fully hit him, school was about to become like a living nightmare. Malfoy suddenly replaced his smirk with a mockingly sad expression. "Oh, I'm so sorry Potter I forgot, not even Lockhart would shag a freak like you!" He sneered his eyes sparkling with mirth.

Harry rouse to confront Malfoy. It was then that Malfoy's former statement fully hit him and Harry felt a coil of rage spring up from him. All those things that Harry had been holding back, not letting out started to build up, growing bigger and bigger; Cedric's death, Sirius's death, the Dursley's neglect, Dumbledore's manipulation, the attack on the gypsies, Megan's dead family, Malfoy's taunting. Suddenly, it was all blurry, he could see nothing but bright colours, hear nothing but roaring wind, as he let out a piercing yell. Then it all went black.

Snape sat with his eyes pinned to the golden trio. Potter sat slumped with his head on the table, long black hair covering his face; Granger and Weasley seemed to be in shock. A minute ago he had been watching them having an argument, it had been more intense than unusual, Potter seemed to be at the centre of the argument at usual, it had been amusing to watch. Then they hall had become quieter as their argument escalated, making it easy for the whole hall to hear Granger yell, "It's obvious Harry's Gay!" at full volume. Honestly, he had thought the girl had had more discretion. Obviously he had been mistaken.

Now the hall had fallen into silence and ever head was turned towards Harry, children from all for houses craned to get a look at the golden boy's face, as did several of the teacher's Snape noticed. As the boy lifted his head, a small amount of chatter broke out until the volume was turned right up, even the staff were discussing Potter's misfortune.

"Gay, did she say?" Flitwick squeaked out, a surprised look on his face.

"Hmmm, I think so" Treleny replied a very concerned look plastered across her insect like face.

"Oh for goodness sake!" McGonagall snapped, "Get a grip Sybil, its not like she's predicted his death!"

"So the boy's gay. It isn't extremely common i'll admit, but there's nothing wrong with that, many great wizards are gay. You'll find that's true of the muggle world too". Petasus, added insightfully.

"Merlin was gay." Sprout offered indifferently. This started off a second round of argument as the staff heatedly discussed the great wizard's sexual preferences. Snape noted, like himself, the headmaster was watching Potter intently and the reaction of his peers. Snape was surprised and slightly pleased that Potter was taking the humiliation well, he himself had faced a similar situation in his time and he in no way envied the boy's position at the moment.

Not boy, Snape thought, for he was no longer a child. He was of age in the wizarding world and all his childish features had seemed to had disappeared over the summer; his skin was tanned a golden colour, his hair grown out, his muscled more toned and his shoulders broadened. Even the 'Wizard's Underground' (how had Potter got his hands on that paper?), was more inclined to call him 'man-who-lived'. But Potter was still young and was still venerable, and he was about to find out if he was still as hot headed as ever Snape mused as Malfoy approached the trio.

Malfoy was saying something to Potter; it was obviously a taunt, he didn't seem bothered by it, in fact he seemed to be ignoring Malfoy altogether. Maybe some sense had been knocked into him after all. As the hall quietened a bit Malfoy voice floated across the hall:

"…Not even Lockhart would shag a freak like you!" The blonde boy said with a sneer. Potter had stood to meet confront him; suddenly his cool features were contorted with rage. It looked like something was coiling up inside of him ready to blow. Malfoy wisely took a step back, Potter stood stock-still. Large tendrils of raw deep purple magic were seeping slowly from him coiling into the air around him, his body radiated terrifying power and his eyes were glazed over. Students around him began to back away with fear; a few of the first years openly crying confused and scared.

Snape sprang to he feet as did Dumbledore, he began to make his way towards Potter when he suddenly let out a piercing scream that lifted the hair on the back of his neck, it was full of rage and sorrow he sounded like a banshee. Then suddenly a searing bright white light burst from his body, Snape threw his hands up to fend against the light as he was thrown backwards with great force, his head connecting with the table behind him.

Snape winced, his head hurt. He blinked once an sat up, the first thing he noticed was that the hall was in up roar around him, students were picking themselves up off the floor while other cowered in small group, they all looked pale and shaken. Dumbledore was ordering them all to return to their common rooms, the Professor were crowded around the prone from of Potter. As Snape approached he noticed the boy seemed peaceful now, he lay unconscious on the floor as Petasus checked for a pulse.

"He's fine, just asleep. I think he must have used up extreme amounts of energy. I've never seen anything like that before". The tall man said looking down thoughtfully at Potter.

"We should take him to the hospital wing", McGonagall was saying, "Poppy will know what to do". She cast a levitation charm on Potter but nothing happened, she frowned and tried again. Nothing.

"I think Mr. Potter is rejecting the magic, maybe a more traditional approach might be required." The headmaster suggested joining them.

"Very well. Leo, do you mind?" McGonagall gestured to the unconscious form on the floor.

"Sorry Minerva", Petasus replied gesturing to his cane.

Snape stepped forward and scooped the boy up into his arms, he was extremely light, which made him frown but he did not wake.

"Thank you Severus, I think it's a bout time we had a chat with Harry do you think you could keep an eye on him and inform Minerva and myself when he wakes". Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes drilling into Severus. His customary twinkle was absent for once. Severus nodded and made his way towards the hospital wing. This was supposed to be his day off, he thought scowling at a portrait of a donkey and a giant carrot. Just great!

**Chapter 14….Questions Answered. I was going to continue that part in this chapter but it would have been very long and I wouldn't' have been able to update for a bit longer so I decided to leave it as it is. Hope you like.**

**Special Thanks go to:**

**MeaghanPotter **

**Emma **

**mateja007**

**Susan Potter**

**Nemi Jade **

**Thanks so much for your support you guys, I don't know what I'd do without you!**


	15. Questions Answered

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**AN: I'm putting the rating up to M; this is for future chapters and also for some things that are mentioned e.g. mention of rape etc. Just to be on the safe side.**

**Chapter 15**

**Questions Answered**

Harry woke to the sounds of voices. He was laying in fairly hard bed, with soft clean sheets, a bed he knew far too well. Cracking open one eye confirmed Harry's Suspicions. Great! Lessons hadn't even started yet and he was already in the hospital wing. The voices were coming from the far side of the hospital wing, it sounded like Madam Pomfrey and Snape, discussing potions no doubt. Harry opened his eyes fully and quickly slipped out of bed, he was still wearing his riding clothes, although his boots and chaps had been removed and his shirt undone. Buttoning it up he wandered over to the cornered off bed further down the wing, pulling back the curtain he peered inside. Old Grandma Thyme lay asleep in the bed. She looked very pale and her breathing came difficultly. As he approached her eyes flicked open and bight emerald met pale blue.

"Hello Harry", she wheezed coughing slightly. Harry slipped into the chair next to her. "I've been thinking about that dream of yours."

Harry nodded, "the one about the flying tigers came true. It was just like I dreamed."

"Hmmm, I suspected as much." Grandma Thyme replied thoughtfully "But my dear, I was referring to your other dream, the one about the voices in the mist."

"I hadthat oneagain last night, the same dream as last time", Harry added sitting forward on his chair.

"Yes, my dear. I remember something, an old folk lore about a young girl named Laura, I think she may be relevant to your dream." Grandma Thyme replied and a twinkle very much like Dumbledore's entered her eyes.

"You think she's the girl from the dream?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Hmmm. I think she may have a very important message for you, but we will not talk anymore now." Grandma Thyme replied quietly.

Madam Promfrey burst through the curtains, Snape only one pace behind her. "Mr. Potter, I have not cleared you to be out of your bed yet and I do not want you tiring Mrs.Thyme out, she is extremely unwell!"

"Ah, Poppy. Leave the boy be, he was merely asking after my welfare, but you best be off now I think Harry." Grandma Thyme spoke strongly, though the sudden strength in her voice did not fool him. "I was wondering my dear boy," She added as Harry turned to leave, "If you have the time, I would very much like to see my granddaughter quickly this evening".

Harry nodded, the sad look in her eyes unnerved him, he would make sure he had time to take Megan to see Grandma Thyme before the funeral this evening he decided.

Potter had been asleep for several hours now, Madam Promfrey had assured him that the boy would unfortunately live, not only that but he had not sustained any damage from his incident; he was merely drained of energy. Madam Promfrey abruptly finished there conversation and made he was towards Potter's bed and huffed as she found it empty.

"Hasn't even been here a day!" She muttered, before making her way over to a bed correctly taken by one of the gypsies; an old lady. She was very ill and he was surprised she hadn't already snuffed it. Peering over the mediwitch's shouldered. Severus watched the proceedings with silent contemplation.

Potter was thoroughly checked and the pronounced well and the boy began pulling on his leather boots. "Mr. Potter, the Headmaster requests that you join him in his office, now that you have finished making a scene." Snape sneered, looking down at the boy who was now zipping up a leather chap. He quickly pulled his eyes away when he registered just how well his riding trousers hugged his lower body. Potter straightened up and gazed back calmly. Waiting for Severus to make the first move. He sneered again for good measure and the swept out of the hospital wing, black robes billowed out behind him, leaving the insurable brat to catch up.

"Tea?" Dumbledore asked sincerely. Harry shock his head in annoyance, he really hoped this wouldn't take too long. There was nothing he wanted to share with the headmaster, his head of house or the greasy git in the corner. He had much better things he could be doing like taking Megan to see her Grandma, or helping prepare for the funeral this evening. On the other hand, they may be able to provide him with some useful information or maybe even give him something to use against them (when had he become so Slytherin?) and this would be the perfect chance for a little Snape batting.

"Perhaps a Lemon Drop?" The old coot asked in the same sincere voice, you'd think the lemon drop was the most important thing in the world. Harry sighed.

"I believe you asked me here to discuss my little magic display in the great hall this morning, Sir." Harry stated, ignoring the offer of a lemon drop, he was sure they had an illegal form of calming potion in them anyway. "How is Malfoy by the way?"

The headmaster sighed and set down the bowl of lemon drops. "Quite unscathed."

"What a pity."

"Potter! You are already looking at a months worth of detention for releasing dangerous magic outside a classroom, another cocky comment and it'll be six months!" Snape yelled, his face extremely pale.

"I take it you didn't like Jacob's artistic flare? I thought his alterations made you look quite fetching, Sir." Harry smirked openly.

Snape snarled and lunged for Harry. "That's enough both of you!"

They both sat down scowling at Dumbledore's order. "Now Harry I think we should start from the beginning. Your Uncle and Aunt took a trip to South Manor in Scotland for a week, is that right?" Harry nodded not looking up. "Now tell me about how you met with Oldmoore Gypsies and what happen."

So Harry explained how he had met Jacob and then the rest of the group and over his stay at the Manor had got to know the group well and had agreed to travel with them to Scotland. He told them about the journey and the attack from the Death Eaters as they arrived at Hogwarts. He left out the magic he had been taught and the dreams he had had as well as his conversations with Old Grandma Thyme.

Dumbledore looked at him carefully, his blue eyes drilling into Harry, he looked straight back challengingly. "And how did you come into procession of the Wizard's Underground?"

"Jacob gave it to me, his Uncle, Gavin, subscribes to it. Is it true, Sir?" He glanced at Snape, who was seething, remembering the article about his parent's death's and the suspicions surrounding Snape. Snape seemed to pull himself together and looked at Harry carefully before answering.

"My mother did indeed commit suicide, probably because she was fed up with my father beating her and my father did die shortly after, but that was because he spoilt a young prize meant for the Dark Lord who took it as an insult." He replied slowly.

"A young prize?" Harry inquired; he was surprised that Snape was speaking so openly.

"A young muggleborn boy who had been forced to watch his family die; a popular weekend entertainment for the Death Eater. The Dark Lord of course, gets first pick of the spoils." Snape sneered. Harry cringed at the horrific image.

"If that's true then why did the newspaper suggest that evidence was found against you?" Harry asked surprised.

"Because the press will always seek to disrepute any with even the slightest smudge on their record, as I'm sure you must know." Snape sneered once more.

"Now Harry," Dumbledore said interrupting his train of thought. "From you 'little scene' earlier, I would take an educated guess and say that you have been learning some elemental magic from are Oldmoore friends, am I right?" Harry nodded, by way of reply.

McGonagall sat forward in surprise. "But elemental magic is extremely difficult and not compatible with a wizards magic!"

"Ah yes Minerva, but since when has our Harry been normal." He replied with a twinkle. Harry scowled, as much for being called 'their Harry' as for being called 'not normal'. "Now Harry I think its about time you showed us what you can do, something a little less explosive than this morning, perhaps?"

Harry scowled again but sat forward and stuck out his hand, he breathed slowly and shut his ignoring the three pairs of eyes boring into him. He imagined a rose in his palm and a lightweight appeared there, the he imagined it opening then its leaves falling to the floor. He let his hand fall and imagined the petals on the floor lifting in a light breeze and scattering about the room then as they rouse into the air bursting into flame. Harry opened his eyes to see the three teachers sat entranced, Snape recovered first.

"And water?" He prompted.

Harry nodded and returned his gaze to the floor. A puddle appeared there the rose slightly and pulled itself together into the shape of a rose that froze in that position. Finally for a finale Harry lifted his hand and aimed at the rose and let out a bolt of lightning that stuck the rose and shattered it into a hundred pieces, leaving them to melt on the floor.

A loud clapping brought Harry back from his trance. "Very good Harry, very good indeed." Dumbledore said, smiling broadly. "I am most impressed. While I know of several wizards through the ages who have been able to wield the magic of gypsies, I only know of one, other than yourself, who learnt to wield it so advancely in scarcely two weeks. It has been speculated that he too held one of your rare traits." He replied with a twinkle.

Harry frowned confused, while Professor McGonagall snorted. "Honestly Albus, you don't really believe Sprout do you?" Dumbledore simply smiled.

"You mean Voldermort?" Harry asked confused.

It was Snape's turn to snort. "I do not believe the headmaster was referring to you ability to speak Parseltongue, Potter. The man in question is the Great Wizard Merlin and I believe the trait in question was the one brought to our attention this morning by Miss Granger's ever-quiet voice." Snape smirked evilly as Harry felt his face beginning to flush, then ran his eyes over Harry's body suggestively, making Harry turn a shade similar to that of a beetroot.

"This does bring us to the question of what exactly happened this morning." Dumbledore interrupted. "I thought you had learnt to keep better control over emotions and magic Harry, what did Malfoy say?"

Harry scowled again, sitting back in chair. "Nothing, just a snide remark. I was upset about the attack" He replied, it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either and he had no intention of telling Dumbledore what had really upset him.

"Now Harry, I know that was very upsetting seeing people you got to know so well die at the hands of the Death Eaters. But you have had good training in keeping your emotions and magic under check. Do you need more training; have you forgotten it all over summer? Or was there something more that triggered you outburst this morning?" Dumbledore asked carefully his eyes gazing right into Harry sole. Harry wrenched his eyes away; Dumbledore was not going to use legimency on him!

"There is nothing." He replied in a bored tone.

Dumbledore sat back with a sigh defeated, "In that case I would like you to continue your training with professor Snape on a night convenient for you both. You will be continuing with occlumency as well as homing your knew magic and learning to control your emotions." Dumbledore looked up at Harry once more. "I want you to work hard this year Harry, I believe the final war is not far off and you will need as much knowledge and power as possible to help you. Remember Harry; if you should ever feel the need to talk my door is open to you, as is Professor's McGonagall's and Snape's." Dumbledore signalled that Harry could leave and waited in silence as Harry closed the door and fled the castle.

The meeting turned to other topics such as Quidditch training and Halloween as Harry returned to the Gypsy's camp. Snape watched out the office window as a figure rode back towards the castle on a black horse. He knew it was Potter. He had watched from a window as the man had ridden the horse the horse around the grounds as the light was just coming over the horizon, he seemed to enjoy riding so much and they made a magnificent pair. He was sure as soon as the man was spotted on the horse by the other students half the school would be in love with him and he was sure it wouldn't just be the girls. Much to Potter's delight, no doubt.

As horse and rider came nearer Severus noted that a second person was sitting in front of Harry, a small person with blonde hair. An admirer already, Snape smirked, he would take great joy from teasing Potter this year. He watched as Harry jumped down carefully lifting a small blonde girl from the horses back, she must be the old lady's grandchild, Severus thought as the pair disappeared into the castle. This year was going to be an interesting one, Severus through smiling. Yes, very interesting.

**Chapter 16…. Silent Night. A sad chapter. The funeral etc, then onto the beginning of lessons.**

**For those of you who are interested, I've done two fanart drawing to go with my fic. One is currently being up loaded to the detention Severus/Harry slash website (Google it) under my penname. If its not up loaded yet, you can't find it or you'd like to see them both, then say so with in a review and leave an e-mail address or a way of contact and I'll send them to you!**

**Special Thanks go to:**

**Hailmags**

**dancing monkey **

**Never Odd Or even**

**Glad you're enjoying the fic! And….**

**mateja007**

**Susan Potter**

**Nemi Jade**

**Again! Thanx, you three are the best!**


	16. Silent Night

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**A/N: I now have three pieces of fanart to go with this story, one charcoal sketch of Pasco (Sir Michael's horse), one acrylic painting of Harry riding Taz on Hogwarts grounds and another acrylic painting of Megan in her patch work dress. If anyone would like to give their opinion of them please leave a review with some way of contact. Thanx for all your support!**

**VERY IMPORTANT A/N: I have to apologise for my lateness in the next chapter, I have two reasons for this, firstly I have an ongoing illness which means I have to spend a lot of time at Doctors and Hospitals and don't get as much time as I'd like to do stuff like this. Secondly, I have a pony! You heard it! My 14hh Bay Welsh Cob mare called Jessica, love you lots!**

**Chapter 16**

**Silent Night**

The sun was slowing descending behind the rolling purple hills as Harry helped harness a great black Frisian horse into a wagon bedecked with garlands of black and white roses, the originally colourful wood was now painted a mournful black in tribute to the silk – wrapped bodies laid out carefully inside. There was a full turnout tonight, with the exception of Grandma Thyme who Harry had helped into a seat by a window facing out towards the camp. They all wore their best attire; silk shirt and satin waistcoats for the men and velvet medieval style dresses for the women. Funerals Harry was told, held very strong traditions, a proper send of was important as before a spirit was to be reincarnated. Harry wore a forest green waistcoat and black silk shirt he had conjured up for the occasion, it was respectful to purchase or make the clothes by hand, but lack of warning and time meant Harry had to compromise. They gypsies were not the only ones to get a makeover; the horses too were thoroughly groomed, their manes and tails plated and necks decorated with garlands of flowers.

It was also tradition for a black horse to pull the funeral wagon, soon to be set alight with pure white magical flames, and another to head the precession ridden by a close family member of the deceased. Four gypsies a dyed the day of the attack; Megan's aunt and uncle, an old man who had never married, but was related to many off the clan, and a gypsy from another group who had joined them not long ago. Old Grandma Thyme would therefore be the expectation to lead the precession, however in her present state had asked Megan, who was the next in line, to take the responsibility as she could not. Harry was to ride with Megan on his black horse and was now leading him to the front of the group as others mounted their horses or fell into line by the funeral wagon.

Harry reached Megan and helped her up onto Taz who waited patiently as Harry mounted behind her and Megan was passed a large flame –lit torch. Many of the students had come out of the castle to watch as torches were lit with white flames and the precession began to make its way to make its way past the great lake and towards the rolling hills as the sky began to darken. Dumbledore was present, as were the rest of the teachers, presumably on Dumbledore's orders, they followed along at the back with those on foot. Others were present too, many of the order and some locals from Hogsmeade. Harry was surprised, from what he had been led to believe the general wizarding public despised gypsies, or maybe those who were here had already met this particular group and, like he, had made up their minds a long time ago.

As they arrived on the top of one of the rolling, heather covered hills behind Hogwarts the precession came to a halt. The wagon was driven into a large circle of stones that lay on the ground, placed there earlier in the day. Those on foot formed a circle around the wagon just outside the stone, with those on horse back around the outside standing as though on guard. Gavin broke off from the group and stepped forward raising his hands up; the others followed his gesture.

"Those sacred to our hearts, you have left us and must now move on to a new life. We wish you well on your journey and give what we can to aid you. We hold your memories close to us, we will not forget you." As Gavin said this a great feeling of loss washed over Harry. He had not been with these people for much more than two weeks, yet they were like family to him, their grief pained him. In front of him Megan was shaking, silent tears running down here pale checks. Harry hugged her close, vowing to himself that he would make Voldermort pay for what he had done to so many people and that he would never let the small girl in his arms come to any harm.

Gavin stepped back down as two others stepped up. One man, one woman. The man spoke first as those around him still held their hands high. " David Cerneus Oldmoore, for your knowledge and wisdom; we will not forget you".

The man stepped back and the woman forward. "James Peridwen Castler, for generosity and dedication; we will not forget you." The woman stepped back and a path was cleared in front of Harry and Megan. Harry pushed Taz to walk forward as they entered the inner ring. He glanced at his teachers who watched from behind the gypsies, they seemed thoughtful, sad or respectful. He was caught by a pair of onyx eyes that stared back at him, his expression unreadable; no sneer present. Harry was brought back to the present as Megan shifted. He gave her a comforting squeeze for encouragement; she cleared her voice slightly and said the last line.

"Jasmine Artemis Dolton and Peter Herne Dolton, for your love and devotion…" Megan broke off, tears running down her face once more. Unable to continue, Harry gave her a squeeze and finished the sentence for her.

"…We will remember you." Megan held the torch out, and with the help of Harry, lit the pile of wood inside the wagon.

They retreated to the outside of the circle as the wagon was quickly engulfed in white flames that rose high in the sky, the on lookers quiet in remembrance. This was the most beautiful celebration Harry had ever been to, for it was indeed a celebration, for the lives that had past and the new lives about to begin. Harry could see the tendrils of white magic seeping out from the burning wagon weaving their way between the crowds. Harry glanced at the teachers as the white magic made its way towards them; the magic weaved around them, but did not touch them, then moved away as if rejected. As the magic reached the gypsies it wrapped around them like a soft, safe blanket and was absorbed into their bodies. A tendril of magic wrapped around himself and Megan and a warm feeling spread across his skin, and then slowly the magic seeped into them. Suddenly Harry felt as though he had been struck by lightning, not in a painful way, more as though electricity was pulsing through him, fizzy inside of him and Harry saw flashes of images. A tall man with a long grey cloak and a long grey beard in a Holly tree…A baby wrapped up in cloth in a white crib…and a garden of dead flowers and plants and a tall palm tree. Suddenly Harry came back to the present as the magic began to retreat and the magically flames began to die away. Harry looked up at the starry sky above and sighed, some one was trying to tell him something, but what?

Harry woke the next morning to a bucket of cold water.

"What's wrong? Where's the Death Eaters? Point me the right direction!" Harry yelled, falling out of bed and detangling his wand from his bed sheets.

Jay stood laughing at him, a tin bucket in one hand. "It's Sunday, you said you'd take Megan to that wizarding Alley with you today. Remember? She's waiting outside you know."

"What's the time?" Harry groaned rubbing his eyes and grabbing the nearest set of clothes.

"Nearly nine, you lazy bag of bones!" Jay laughed grabbing a horse halter from the side and walking out of the wagon and grin plastered over his face.

Harry shrugged on a shirt and pair of trousers and grabbed a slice of toast on his way out. True to Jacob's word, Megan stood excitedly by just outside the wagon a thick woollen shawl over her patchwork dress and a pair of tatty leather shoes on her normally bare feet. Harry also noticed that she had taken a good bath her long golden hair tied neatly back and her fingernails free of mud. She grinned up at him.

"Heya, ready to go?" He asked; the blonde girl nodded back enthusiastically. They walked up to the castle together and made their way to Dumbledore's office, where they would be taking the flu to Diagon Alley to shop for Harry's school things, something he had not yet got round to doing. The gargoyle sprung back as if expecting them and they ascended the golden staircase to the Headmaster's office. Harry knocked on the wooden door.

"Come in!" Harry was surprised to find Dumbledore not alone; Snape and McGonagall were also present, as were Sprout and Flitwick. Snape looked some what put out by something; the Harry remembered his promise to return to Occlumency lessons with him and mentally groaned.

"Ahh! Hello Harry, Megan!" Dumbledore beamed. Megan hid behind Harry's legs. "It's good to see you. Head of house meeting at the moment, you understand. I'll let you through quickly, take as long as you like!"

"Dumbledore stood by the fire holding out a pot of flu powder. "Thank you." Harry said taking the pot and holding it out to Megan. "Take a pinch, now step into the fire…" Megan gave him a sceptical look, but proceeded with a nod from Harry. "Now throw it down and say clearly 'Diagon Alley!' Got that?" Megan nodded and followed his directions before disappearing in a swirl of emerald flames. Harry stepped into the fire, nodding a farewell to his professor, and quickly followed.

Diagon Alley was surprisingly quiet compared to all the other times Harry had visited, there were few people around and the main street felt empty and bare. It was not so surprising really, Harry thought; most of the summer rush in Diagon Alley was largely due to the Hogwarts students shopping for their school supplies and since the term had already commenced Harry was the only student around.

Despite the cold, windy weather and the lack of shoppers, Megan seemed to be having the time of her life. She excitedly dragged Harry from shop to shop pointing at things in windows and squealing as she pulled Harry up to the pet shop. In the window sat two tabby kittens, one batted the other playfully with its pore. Harry looked down at the smiling face of the five year old, it never failed to surprise him how Megan could find something to cheer her up, even in the worse circumstances.

"When's your birthday Megan?" Harry asked, the blonde girl.

"October fourth." Came the rehearsed reply from a proud Megan, "I'll be six!"

Harry face broke into a grin. "Close enough!" He pulled a slightly confused Megan into the pet shop and lent over to whisper to the attendant. He pointed out the rainbow coloured fish in a nearby tank while the attendant worked busily behind them.

"That'll be five galleons, three sickles please!" He said, passing Harry a wicker basket. Harry handed over the change then handed the basket to Megan.

"Happy Birthday Megan!" A chorus of meows answered from the basket.

That evening Harry arrived back at the Griffindor tower to be bombarded by questions from Harry and Ron.

"Hey mate, where've you been? They wouldn't let us into the hospital wing!"

"We wanted to know what happened. Did you speak to the Headmaster, can he help?"

"Forget Dumbledore he's an interfering old coot! Fred and George have always said so!"

"What's that got to do with the price of eggs? And you shouldn't say things like that about the headmaster!"

Harry watched the playful banter smiling, his friends never failed to amuse. In fact they seemed to have completely forgotten his presence while continuing to argue.

"Oh! Sorry Harry!" Hermione said at last, calling a halt to their argument. The uncertainly she said, "we saw you at the funeral you know, we were watching from the lake. We're very sorry, I know they were close to you."

"Not really, I didn't really know any of the people who died very well, it was just… very sad." Harry concluded. "I'm sorry I didn't come to see you earlier, I was sent up to see Dumbledore as soon as I woke up yesterday, then I had to get ready for the funeral and this morning I slept in by accident and I'd promised to take Megan to Diagon Alley with me to do my school shopping."

"That's ok, we understand mate." Ron said, flopping into an armchair by the fire.

"So, what did the headmaster say?" Hermione asked, perching on an arm of Ron's chair.

"Not much really, he mainly wanted to know about my summer and stuff" Harry replied shrugging and taking a seat himself.

"But what about your, you know, magic thing yesterday?" Ron whispered.

"He seemed impressed that I could do natural magic" Harry replied a flush appearing on his face as he remembered Dumbledore's comment and more importantly, Snape's look. The flush grew a bit more.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Harry it's a gift you know." Hermione said confidently mistaking the reason behind his flushed face.

"Er, right. So anyway, " Harry continued quickly, "He just thinks that I accidentally let out too much magic and over did it, that's what caused me to pass out. He says I need to control my power and emotions. He's making me take lessons from Snape again." Harry replied scowling.

"That shouldn't be so bad should it? You two were getting on a lot better last year" Hermione said positively.

"Yer, but now he's gone and upset him with that picture thing! One thing's for sure, that old git sure know how to hold a grudge. Have you seen the way he's been looking at Harry recently its like he wants to tie him up and beat him to a small pulp!" Ron argued loudly.

"Ron!"

Harry let the voices of his two best friends wash over him as he thought about the way Snape had been looking at him. No, not tie him up and beat him more like…tie him up and strip him…

That night Harry dreamt of long white fingers and soft pale lips and dark silky hair. He woke early the next morning to find his body covered in sweat and an uncomfortable tightness in his groin. "Oh God!" Harry thought frantically. "No! This is not happening!"

**Chapter 17…. Lucius Malfoy…you'll have to wait and see!**

**Special Thanks go to:**

**Magicalbrat**

**barbarataku**

**DebsTheSnapeFanNow**

**QueenNarca**

**High Low**

**LoveHP**

**jen**

**trendyfishie89**

**Susan Potter**

**mateja007**

**Really Big thanx goes to ….. dancing monkey! Who took a look at my art and sent me a lovely email in response. You're the Best!**


	17. Lucius Malfoy

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**A/N: I now have four pieces of fanart to go with this story, two charcoal sketchs, one of Pasco (Sir Michael's horse), one of Megan's two tabby kittens, and two acrylic paintings; one of Harry riding Taz on Hogwarts grounds and another of Megan in her patch work dress. If anyone would like to give his or her opinion of them please leave a review with some way of contact. Thanks for all your support!**

**VERY IMPORTANT A/N: I have to apologise for my lateness of this chapter, I have two reasons for this, firstly I have an ongoing illness which means I have to spend a lot of time at Doctors and Hospitals and don't get as much time as I'd like to do stuff like this. Secondly, I have a pony! You heard it! My 14hh Bay Welsh Cob mare called Jessica, love you lots!**

**Chapter 17**

**Lucius Malfoy**

Having decided that there was little hope of getting back to sleep, Harry took a long cold shower and changed into his Hogwarts robes before making his way down to the great hall for breakfast. It was still very early when he arrived and there were very few people up yet; one or two Slytherins and a few Ravenclaws, but Harry was the only Gryffindor about, and there was not a single Hufflepuff up yet. In fact the only teachers at the staff table where Mr.Petasus, the new Defence against the dark arts teacher and a member of the travelling group who was reading a newspaper, and Professor Snape, who was drinking an awful lot of what Harry suspected to be coffee, and wincing as though he had a migraine. Harry smirked at the idea of the slimy bastard not being a morning person, until he remember the reason why he himself was up so early and quickly dragged his eyes away blushing, he was not quick enough as Snape looked up and caught him staring.

Harry spent the rest of breakfast with his eyes firmly fixed on his plate until Hermione and Ron finally arrived.

"Morning mate" Ron yawned dropping into the seat next to Harry. Hermione took her place on the other side of Harry, nose down into a book.

"What's that you're reading?" He asked interested. Ron snorted and gave Harry a look, he did have a point Harry thought, lessons hadn't even started yet.

"Old wizarding folklore. After you told us about you dreams and what Mrs.Thyme told you, I've been researching folklore. This is, I can find very little, most of the great events of the wizarding world were always well documented or recorded, so folklore simply doesn't exist as it does in the muggle world." Hermione explained frowning as she shut the book. "The only reference I can find to a messenger is Mercury, the winged daemon messenger who supposedly existed around Merlin's era, the same winged messenger of the Greek muggle myth. And there are no references to any Laura's at all!"

Harry smiled relaxed, "The dreams didn't seem threatening and if they were trying to warn me of something then it didn't seem to be too urgent so I wouldn't worry about it Hermione".

Hermione was about to reply when McGonagall came round with the timetables. All three Gryffindor pounced on them at once. There came a load grown from Ron and Harry.

"Double potions first thing on a Monday!" Ron cried, horrified.

Harry held a similar expression of despair and voiced all the six-year Gryffindor thoughts, "this is Voldemorts doing!"

Snape stormed towards his classroom, black robes billowing behind him. He was seething, staff timetable crumpled in one hand. 'How dare he! Albus was so…so…! ERG!' He had done it deliberately, Severus was sure, just to make sure his life that mush more miserable.

Ah yes, a small voice replied at the back of his head, but it could be worse, Longbottom, Crabbe and Goyle could still be in that class if it weren't for their dismal OWL results. Could be worse!

He silently snarled to the voice, 'Potter's in that class, or had you forgotten? Potter! That arrogant, insufferable brat!'

But that's not what you really think of Potter is, it Severus? The voice replied slyly.

'Of course it is!' Severus thought, slightly panicked and flustered.

Remembering that wonderfully erotic dream from last night are we? The voice smirked.

'Potter is a student!' He thought frantically, appalled at himself.

But he is a very sexy student… the voice suggested …and not a student for much longer…

'SHUT UP' He yelled as he stormed through the door of the potions room, slamming it behind him and yanking his chair out from under his desk and waved leaving instructions on the board as he took his customary seat glaring at nothing in particular.

"WELL?" He yelled as the frozen class of six years, "GET ON WITH IT!"

Despite the fowl mood Snape had been in, double potions hadn't gone too badly for Harry; in fact Harry had found it almost enjoyable. The memory modification potion there were making had come very easily to Harry, he just seemed to know when the potion needed an extra stir or what ingredient came next even without looking at the instructions on the board. Well, he thought to himself, if Potions was going to be like this from now on, Harry was in for a laughable year. When Snape had finally come round to check their finished potions he could not find fault with Harry's and simply sneered before turning to the unfortunate Weasley next to him, whose potion was a violent red instead of the pale yellow he had expected.

The rest of Harry's morning lessons continued with as much ease as Potions; in Defence Against the Dark Arts Harry had managed to conjure up a shield of raw blue magic without using his wand that no hex or curse from Ron could breach. He then threw miniature bolts of lightning and flame balls at Ron as he practiced shielding with little success, complaining that Harry was cheating by not using spells or hexes, the consequence of which Harry returned to using spells with his wand and Ron's shielding ability somewhat improved. Transfiguration was an even bigger success as Harry now found that with the right concentration, he could manipulate living things to change into something else, provided they had enough atoms. Although, Harry suspected that he could easily pull stray atoms from the surrounding area should he even need to. The result being that Harry had not only transfigured the feather on his table into a white bunny rabbit but the table and Hermione's feather too. Much to Hermione's aggravation Harry had not only managed this before her, but he had done it with out even toughing his wand or so much as lifting a finger.

Harry's new power and magical ability had not gone unnoticed by his teachers or his fellow students as while, as gypsy himself Mr. Petasus was extremely impressed by Harry's level of ability with natural or 'elemental' magic as Dumbledore had called it and Professor McGonagall very excited by this new found ability, they had both reminded Harry that he was meant to be practicing both subjects threw wizarding magic. However, after using such powerful magic, Harry was beginning to find wizarding magic very tame, taking mere seconds to complete the tasks set by his teachers using wizarding magic channelled through his wand. If anything, he was beginning to find his wand a hindrance.

As they returned to the great hall for lunch, he Ron and Hermione stopped short of the doors as the Headmaster, the Minister Fudge and Lucius Malfoy rounded the corner, an argument-taking place. The Golden Trio moved a bit closer to listen in, even though with the volume the men were shouting at, this was not altogether necessary.

"Appalling having such creatures near a school full of vulnerable children!" Lucius Malfoy spat out the word 'creatures' a look of complete distaste covering his porcelain face. Fudge did not look much happier with the situation.

"I quite agree, Lucius, I'm sorry Albus but it is quite inappropriate to allow such people to stay here, the Ministry cannot approve it!" Fudge concluded, making his way towards the castle doors.

"The ministry does not NEED to approve it, as Headmaster of the school I am in complete control of everything that happens within here grounds. This includes giving sanctuary to those in need; particularly groups of people who have already suffered a great loss caused by Voldemort's followers and may be convinced to join the war effort and fight for the light side in the near future." The Headmaster replied swiftly a dangerous gleam in his eye.

"You cannot possibly….!" Fudge began, only to be interrupted by the Malfoy Senior.

"You really think such worthless beings can be of use in a 'war effort'?" Lucius laughed coldly. "They are little more than rats, Dumbledore. The live in filth, with no estate or worth…and as for education, take a look for yourself! The children run round barefooted in dirty clothes, playing on the backs of muggle animals while pretending they understand the workings of magic! It's disgusting!"

A twinkle returned to Dumbledore's eyes. "Ah, Lucius, such a noble cause, I should have realised, you being the head of the governors! Of course, you a re right. How negligent of me! I will make sure that those children of Hogwarts age receive proper education in the appropriate subjects immediately." Fudge seemed a little flustered, and Lucius completely thrown of course. So Dumbledore continued in a business like manor as he herded them towards the door. "I'll have their timetables made this evening and they can be enrolled tomorrow morning. We have plenty of spare supplies including uniform and books and this is exactly the sort of this the Hogwarts trust was set up for."

As they reached the castle threshold a small blonde girl in a multicoloured dress came careering threw the doors two tabby kitten clutched in her tiny arms. Lucius raised an eyebrow and sneered at the young girl who had bumped into him, who froze looking at the scary blonde man towering over her.

"An what of these…children…who are not of Hogwarts age" He questioned, his gaze never leaving Megan.

"I assure you, all the children a home schooled and have very good level of intelligence…" Dumbledore replied coldly, the twinkle leaving his eyes, his statement seemed more like a warning.

" And who is this?" Fudge asked, having pulled himself together slightly, "What's your name, young lady?" he asked, in a voice that yelled forced politeness.

The young child hesitated, unsure at first, until one of her kittens let a meow, breaking the silence. "Megan…" She replied slowly.

"And where are your parents Megan?" Lucius asked, in a fake sweet voice, an evil smile began to form from the edge of his mouth. "They don't let you wander around on your own I hope, that could be very dangerous you know…" He trailed of giving Megan 'that look'. Harry knew 'that look', as his heart leapt into his mouth, he didn't like 'that look'.

The hall was now full with an audience, both students and teachers on the way to lunch and as Harry broke away from Ron and Hermione and made his way towards the three men, as he did so he was aware of Snape to his left, heading in the same direction. He moved to stand next to Megan opposite the three men as Snape and McGonagall joined them.

"Megan's family are no longer with us." Harry replied coldly, a look of mock sadness passed over Malfoy's face, while one more akin to surprise passed Fudge's. "Megan's mother died a year ago and her Aunt and Uncle died in Friday's attack, while her Grandmother, who was badly injured in the same attack lies very ill in the Hospital wing" Harry continued throwing a look of loathing towards Malfoy, while gently holding Megan's shoulder.

Malfoy looked a the child pityingly then crouched down next to her, "No father to look after you?" He asked gently, and then as Megan shook her head, he reached out a hand and stroked her delicate cheek. "How about you come stay with me for a while, you'd like to have a father wouldn't you?" Lucius asked in that same, gentle voice, but his eyes gave him away, he was giving her 'that look' again. Harry shivered as the rage built up in him once again. Magic was coiling up out of him and in an instant Malfoy found himself thrown across the room connecting with the wall at the far side of the hall, as Harry pushed Megan behind him protectively. There was a shocked silence, not a single noise could be heard, Harry was seething, his whole body shaking in fear and rage, he eyes were glazed over he was breathing heavily, and everything seemed muffled. Soon rage gave way to plain fear as Harry began to register a gentle voice somewhere on his right, it was soothing, calling to him and as the fogginess began to lift he realised it was talking to him.

"That's right Harry, listen to me. Put Lucius down now. The child will not be going anywhere." The silky voice told him. As he relaxed and realised, true to what the voice said, Malfoy Senior was still suspended twenty feet up in the air next to the far wall of the hall, he seemed somewhat flustered and his usually pale complexion had more than a little pink in it. Letting out a shaky breath, Harry let go of the bastard. As Lucius plummeted towards the ground Harry was aware of the Headmaster casting a levitating charm, allowing Malfoy Senior to return to his feet with nothing but his pride injured. Pity, Harry thought.

All the way threw lunch and his afternoon lessons Harry was aware of teacher and students watching him, while Ron and Hermione tried to act as though nothing had happened. After shooing the two men quickly out the Headmaster had suggested that everyone make their way to the great hall for lunch. Harry was sill in somewhat of a daze by he noticed Snape on his right lift an eye questioningly and the headmaster shake his head. Probably wants to take points, Harry though miserably. He didn't let Megan go the whole way threw lunch and she sat on his lap as they ate tuna and corn pasta and after lunch he walked Megan all the way back to the campsite, not letting go of her hand until they had reached there safely and he had asked Jacob to keep a close eye on her. When he arrived back at the castle, Harry noticed Snape lurking by the entrance of to the Dungeons, seemingly waiting for his return. Harry Scowled, it seemed like Megan wasn't the only one being carefully watched. It wasn't until dinnertime that Harry the earlier incident in the hall was mentioned at all.

As Harry was eating his beefsteak a charms textbook open in front of him, Professor McGonagall approached him and informed him that the Headmaster would like to see him in his office straight after dinner. Ron and Hermione eyed him up carefully but wisely decided to keep their mouths shut as Harry Harry's Golden plate burst into magical crimson flames. Harry jumped in surprise, and then sighed. After waving a hand to extinguish the flames Harry picked up his things and made his way to Dumbledore's office. When he arrived, he realised he had no idea what the current password was after reeling off a list of wizarding sweets, to no avail Harry Gave up an let out another, long suffering sigh.

"Milky way" Came a silky voice from behind him, making Harry jump. Harry frowned as he let Snape move passed him and joined him on the spiral staircase; he was sure Dumbledore usually only used wizarding candy for his password. As they arrived at his office the door was already open so they took their seats as they went threw the usual custom of "tea?" and "Lemon drop? They're very good for you".

Harry noted that McGonagall was not present this time, but thinking of that made him think of the reason he was here and the discussion they were about to have, so for stall, "Milky Way?" he asked Dumbledore.

"Ah yes!" Dumbledore cried enthusiastically, "A new invention by the Weasley twins, quite amazing potion work! Creamy chocolate bar that creates the idea of visit to our Galaxy! Hallucinogenic, of course, but apparently a legal one, been finally manipulated. Quite extraordinary! Never did give those two enough credit for their genius!"

Snape scoffed, but Harry notice that there was little force behind it, he too must have been fairly impressed by some of their new inventions, no doubt for their excellent potions work.

"Now Harry," Dumbledore began, drawing Harry out of his daze and fixing his with a penetrating and calculating expression. "Why did you loose you control this morning?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Harry shot back, "Malfoy's a…!"

"Now Harry, there's no need for that" That Headmaster reproached swiftly cutting him off, "We all know Malfoy's a distasteful man at the best of times but you reaction was quite over the top. I had hoped you spat with Draco Malfoy had just been a fluke. Is it something to do with the Malfoys?"

"No!" Harry replied quickly, it was true it wasn't them that was causing the problem…more their behaviour.

"Well then?" Dumbledore prompted.

Harry opened his mouth then shut it again, "I don't know."

"Potter…" Snape snarled, his patience wearing thin. Harry glared at him, there was not way he was telling the greasy git, even if his hair WAS a little less greasy today…

"Well then Harry," Dumbledore sat back looking at Harry thoughtfully. "I suggest you get a move on with your Occulemency lessons with Professor Snape, this should help you with both your emotional control and your night-dreams. Have you had anymore?"

"Not like the future one, but the ones with the girl and the mist, that keeps repeating and its always the same." Harry replied, relieved the Headmaster had changed the topic of conversation, "Hermione couldn't find anything."

"No", Dumbledore agreed eyes twinkling, "Neither can I thus far, but I will continue searching and shall let you know of my progress. You may go now Harry"

Harry rose to leave. Dumbledore looked pointedly at Snape who rolled his eyes but called out over his shoulder. "Eight pm sharp Potter! Do not be late!"

As Harry retreated down the staircase he could hear the murmurings as Snape and Dumbledore conversed quietly.

"Your thoughts Severus?" Dumbledore asked serving more tea.

"Finally cracked and gone insane" Severus muttered picking up his teacup.

"Severus!" Dumbledore chided, "This could be important."

"Of Course it's important! With Potter wielding that much power around he could do a lot of damage. He certainly has enough reasons to kick up a fuss to threats, but still I had thought the boy had learnt to control his emotions better than this." Snape mused.

"Perhaps you are right, it may simply be that one too many unfortunate things have happened to the boy." Dumbledore replied taking a moment to sip his tea. "But he was learning to be much more rational last year, he mastered Occulemency, he learned to pass over insults and the year passed without incident. Even his summer, he informs us, was an enjoyable one. It just doesn't make sense."

"The attack on the travellers?" Severus suggested frowning.

"That is what he told us, but we both know he was being less than honest. He pulled his eyes away from me deliberately" The headmaster frowned, annoyed at his disobedience.

Snape however, snorted. "Potter may be an insurable brat, but he is not without intelligence. He doesn't trust you." 'I wonder why!' he thought sarcastically.

"Thank you!" The headmaster replied sharply, his blue eyes piercing, "I HAD noticed." Then he sighed, as though defeated. "Yes of course, you are right. He will not likely tell me anything and I cannot force him to. You will find out, Severus. If Harry really does have a problem he is not sharing with us, then I fear that it could cause a lot of damage in the near future, both for Harry's mental stability as well as those around him.

Snape glared at the obvious order, but nodded his head in agreement, although he did not think it was anything as pressing as the old coot made out, he too was intrigued to know what potter was hiding, for he was hiding something, of that much he Severus was sure.

**Chapter 18…I am not going to give you the name of this chapter as there are a couple of ideas I still need to work out, but I'm half way threw it! I also have the next four or so chapters planned out….hehehehe**


	18. Of Newspapers and Teacups

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**Chapter 18**

**Of Newspapers and Teacups**

Harry woke to the sound of snoring. Rolling over he glanced at the clock on the opposite wall (a new addition to the dorm this year), it had obviously been inspired by one of Mrs Weasley's clocks as there were three hands and instead of the time, thirteen phrases adorned the face. They read:

'Too early'

'Time to get up'

'You're LATE'

'Breakfast time!'

'Morning lessons'

'Free time'

'Lunch time!'

'Afternoon lessons'

'Dinner time!'

'DETENTION'

'Quidditch'

'Homework'

'GO TO BED!'

The clock had three hands so that it could point to several appropriate phrases at once. At the moment it was pointing at both 'breakfast time' and 'You're LATE'. Harry groaned and yanked the covers of Ron before returning to dress quickly. Harry and his dorm mates had discovered that the clock responded to whoever was looking at it, this had been caused quite a lot of confusion, as they had been discussing this as all five pairs of eyes had been on the clock at once causing its hand to spin round crazily while trying to point to 'DETENTION' and 'You're LATE' for Seamus and 'free time' and 'homework' for the rest of them, an impossible feat with only three hands.

While dressing Harry's mind travelled back over late night's events. He had gone to Occulemency with Snape, which had been reasonably uneventful; he had thankfully been able to ignore all inconvenient thoughts about his Potions Master and Snape had only managed to break threw his control a handful of times, resulting in a somewhat successful, if not perfect, session. He had then arrived back at the Gryffindor tower to continue on with his homework and ended up having a long and interesting discussion with Ron and Hermione…

_"You okay mate?" Ron asked as Harry threw himself into the air chair next to him._

_"Yer, I'm sorry about earlier you guys. I talked to Dumbledore, he wanted to know what's wrong, even tried legimency on me! Not that I'll fall for that dirty trick any longer. Then I had to meet up with Snape for my Occulemency lesson, I guess that was a good thing since I am a little rusty and he wasn't too bad. I just don't understand why I keep loosing control all the time!" Harry ranted, throwing up his hands in frustration._

_"It's okay Harry it's not your fault. I've been researching about Natural or elemental magic and apparently loosing control is very common. The magic is so powerful and raw it takes time to control how much or little you use, gypsy children often do uncontrolled by accident as they learn to manipulate it and you've only just started learning so you're going to be a little unstable a first. But you're right, Occulemency should help, if only to control your emotions better." Hermione explained. _

_Harry nodded remembering the time a Sir Michael's evening meal when it had taken him a while to work out the right temperature for his cup of tea, now he did it all the time without noticing. Apparently it was so subtle, that neither Ron nor Hermione had noticed him cooling his tea either. _

"_So you don't think Harry's out-burst of magic was just uncontrolled wizarding magic, I mean Harry's done that lots of times before. How can you tell the difference?" Ron asked confused, Harry thought he could answer this, but let Hermione plough ahead, she seemed to be finding the subject fascinating. _

"_Do you remember the coloured tendrils of magic Harry let out?" She asked Ron, when he nodded an affirmative, she continued. "Well, when wizards let out uncontrolled magic you can't always see the raw magic, and when you can it comes in short sharp burst of colour, a bit like bolts of lightning. That's because the magic is still being channelled, it's taken from the magic reserves inside us, all wizards have this and this is wear they get there magic from, it replenishes as we use it and that's why some wizards are more powerful than others and even those most powerful wizards like Dumbledore have their limits." Hermione paused to let the information sink in before continuing "When Harry uses natural or elemental magic, he's not taking magic from himself he's borrowing it from his surroundings, the slow moving tendrils you saw was the magic he had taken from around him. That means as long as Harry knows how to manipulate his surroundings to 'borrow' magic there is not limit to the amount of magic he can gain or where that magic comes from. Harry cast a completely spell proof shield, or burn down the school, or bring someone back to life (although that's only hypothetical) or he could drain all the magic from one of us, he could…." _

Hermione had left that last sentence unfinished, neither Ron nor him had needed her to finish it. Harry could kill someone, by accident or on purpose, it didn't matter he could still do it. That made him dangerous, extremely dangerous. No wonder everyone had been avoiding him like a plague since he had shown his talents on Saturday. So this must be what Jacob meant when he said that most wizards didn't like them and that they were afraid of what they didn't understand. It was true, they were afraid. He hadn't seen or talked to any of his other doormates since before Saturday's events, though they had seemed a little off with him he hadn't really notice with everything that had been going on. Harry sighed, at least Hermione didn't seem to mind too much, although she had given him a good lecture about consequences of actions just in case and although Ron had been very quiet once he had fully understood Harry's abilities, he was still talking to him, which could only be a good thing.

"Ready to go face the Daily Prophet?" Ron smiled giving him a sympathetic look. Harry smiled back at Ron, and then groaned as Ron's question registered in his brain. Of course! He had not realised! Harry guessed, that like Hermione most of the Ravenclaws and some of the Slytherins would have put two and two together after Harry's second out burst and would have informed the Daily Prophet. The Daily Prophet was going to have a field day, as was the rest of the world, in fact the only reason it hadn't been publicised yet was because, unlike the muggle world, there were no newspapers on a Sunday. It was probably a good thing, Harry realised that very few of the students had realised that Harry had been using natural magic on Saturday, just like Ron, or there would have been a riot. Oh! The Minister and Malfoy! Harry suddenly realised. They had been there because they were concerned about the resident Gypsies, for the same reasons the school was worried about Harry, if they hadn't realised at the time that Harry had been doing Gypsy magic then they would find out as soon as the newspapers hit their desks.

When Harry and Ron entered the Great Hall silence fell, every pair of eyes was on them, well, not them, on Harry to be more precise. Harry glared in annoyance as they made their way towards the Gryffindor table. No, Harry thought, not every pair of eyes, for Harry noticed that there was a group of students in the far corner of the hall who were not paying any attention, they were starring at the ceiling in awe or pointing out the flying candles and one or two were whispering and looking at the rest of the students. Harry smiled as a tall boy with messy brown hair and bright blue eyes waved at him enthusiastically, Harry grinned and waved back. True to his word, it seemed that Dumbledore intended for the gypsy children to attend classes.

As Harry took his seat next to Hermione, McGonagall placed a short stone pillar in front of the staff table where Harry had been expecting the stool and sorting Harry next Dumbledore stepped forward and gently placed a glowing sphere of ruby red light onto the stone pillar and called for attention.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, as you may have noticed from the many newspapers lying around this morning…." Harry swiftly glanced at the closest newspaper whose title screamed **'BOY WONDER OR DEMENTOR IN DISGUISE?'**, how original, Harry thought rolling his eyes. "There has been some misinformed controversy over are newest residents at Hogwarts and their unique form of magic. I would like to make it very clear that rumours of danger and discreet from our resident travellers, or ANYONE within our grounds is completely unfounded and outrageous and I will remind you ALL of the warning and guidance I gave on your arrival."

Then the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes reappeared as he straighten up and continued, "On a happier note I would like to announce the decision for several members of the Oldmoore Gypsies to join Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the foreseeable future. Since, as I'm sure you all know Gypsies are not Wizards, they therefore cannot be sorted threw our usual sorting hat system instead they will each come up and place both hand on the magic sphere next to me, they will then be sorted into the appropriate houses. They will not however be taking up residence in any of the dorms and therefore attendance to meals in the castle is not required, and they will be attending most but not all lessons. However, our new students are to be treated equally with the same respect as every other student in the school and will be welcome to all the facilities including common rooms and Quidditch teams."

The was a loud buzz of noise as Dumbledore's announcement came to an end, but it died away as McGonagall opened a roll of parchment. "Raven Woden Oldmoore – First Year" She called.

A Small black haired boy stepped forward nervously and placed both hands on the magical sphere and closed his eyes after several moments a tendril of blue light rose lazily from the sphere creating the Ravenclaw house symbol. Apparently his name had been well chosen, as the Ravenclaw symbol embroidered itself onto his newly acquired school robes and he nervously took his seat next to the other Ravenclaw first years.

"Hazel Aspen Petasus – Second Year" stepped up to the stone pillar, tucking a strand of chestnut hair behind one ear, she placed both hands on the sphere and was presently sorted into Hufflepuff.

She was Shortly followed by "Rowan Ash Petasus – Second Year" who quickly joined his twin at the Hufflepuff table. The twins, Harry had already met; Hazel was a quiet and sensitive girl, while her brother was slightly more outgoing, he was quick to jump to her defence and was surprisingly insightful.

"Aquila Chrysaetos Oldmoore – Third Year" Then approached the sphere, a golden eagle came into Harry's mind off its own accord and he frowned. Then he smiled as she was sorted into Ravenclaw and sat next to Raven, their close proximity showing the similarity of their features, obviously also sister and brother. Her name, Harry realised meant Golden Eagle, both named after birds and both in Ravenclaw's house. Harry smiled to himself again; he was willing to bet all his money at Gringotts that Grandma Thyme had suggested the children's names.

"Lacerta Blackthorn – Fifth Year" jogged him out of his muse and a girl with long golden hair stepped forward and was sorted into Slytherin. The house seemed uncertain of her at first, but Lacerta ignored her housemates and walked straight up to Draco and asked Goyle quite politely to move before seating herself in his now vacant space and proceeded to walk the rest of the sorted without paying any attention to the mouth of the Prince of Slytherin which hung open in surprise.

Finally Jacob was the only student left to be sorted and he stepped forward when "Jacob Sussuro Ferox" was called. Placing both his hands on the sphere he closed his eyes, his face showing a huge concentration. Finally after minutes of baited breath "Gryffindor" was called which was greeted by much enthusiasm from Harry and his friends, although the rest of the applause was unnaturally thin for the Gryffindor house.

As Jay plonked himself down next to Harry, Dumbledore waved his hands and breakfast continued. "Oh don't you look dashing!" Jay teased a piece of toast in one hand and a copy of the Daily prophet in the other.

Harry waked him on the arm, snatching the newspaper from him and critically casting his eyes over the picture Jay had been looking at. It had been taken on Saturday when Harry had been riding round the grounds on Taz; Taz was cantering and Harry was smiling as the wind wiped threw his loose hair and he clutched as the horses mane. He actually thought Jay was right; the photo wasn't half bad. He was a little flushed from the crisp day and his eyes seemed unnaturally bright, but the sunset (or had it been sunrise?) cast a soft glow over his skin. Harry began to form a smile… that was until he noticed the headline stretched across the top of the page it proclaimed; **"IT'S OBVIOUS HARRY'S GAY!"**. For the second time Harry's head hit the table and he groaned. Life was just not fair!

**Chapter 19… Break me off a piece of that! Lessons with Jacob and sessions with Snape.**

**Special Thanks go to:**

**Barbarataku – thanks for your swift review!**


	19. Break Me Off a Piece of THAT!

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**Chapter 19**

**Break Me Off a Piece of That**

Jay threw a sideways glance at Harry, "Oh, cheer up mate, you're not nearly as obvious as me" he assured him sending one of his most stunning smiles over to a Ravenclaw sixth year.

"Straight," Harry informed him miserably.

Snape made his way over to where the Golden Trio sat at the table. Potter, he noticed seemed very friendly with the Gypsy boy, what was his name now? Frox? No, Fox? He wasn't sure. The boy was tall, well muscled and tanned, like Harry, obviously something that came from spending long hours outdoors doing heavy labour. The boy had a wild crop of light brown hair and deep blue eyes, he sprawled in the seat next to Potter and Snape noticed there were more than a few people staring at him, the boy did seem to ooze charm and confidence.

As he approached, his sharp hearing picked up the conversation the two were having. "Oh, cheer up mate, you're not nearly as obvious as me" the boy assured a miserable looking Potter, the Gypsy boy sent a stunning smile over to a Ravenclaw sixth year boy, the poor boy looked mortified and ducked his head.

"Straight" Came the miserable statement from Potter. The other boy did not seem to be at all put of with his failure at flirting with the Ravenclaw and cast his eyes around no doubt looking for his next victim. His progress stopped abruptly and his jaw dropped down.

"Oh my GOD! Somebody break me off a piece of THAT!" He exclaimed, his eyes glued to someone seated at the far side of the room. This got Potter's attention, along with most of the Gryffindors in hearing range and a couple of the Ravenclaws on the table next to them. Potter's eyes followed Jay's line of sight, as did Snape's, and came to land on the Slytherin table.

"Who, Blaise?" Potter asked confused, but then realising Jay hadn't responded, eyes still glued to his victim, tried again, "the black-haired boy?" Snape had a sneaking suspicion that this was not who the boy was gapping gob smacked; his suspicions were confirmed seconds later.

"No, the BLONDE haired one! Please god-damn-it tell me he's not straight…he is just TOO HOT to be wasted on heterosexuals!" The boy exclaimed, he was starting to get a slightly flustered look about him. As if on cue, Draco decided to bite into a strawberry, before carefully removing the other so as not to get juice all over his mouth. The boy moaned and Potter's mouth fell open.

"You mean DRACO MALFOY?" He asked appalled, apparently the idea of finding the junior Malfoy attractive had never crossed his mind.

"You have to admit Harry, he may be a bit of an arrogant git, but he's not completely unfortunate looking" Granger put in conversationally, "Oh, don't look at me like that Ron!" Snape had to agree with Granger; Draco would be a VERY desirable young man if it weren't for his personality. He himself remembered lusting after Lucius in their school days, but compared to Draco, Lucius was nothing.

" 'Not completely unfortunate looking?'" The boy repeated, offended. "He's a SEX GOD, that's what he is!" Snape frowned; he didn't think he'd go that far.

"Well…" Potter replied flushing slightly, obviously realising Draco's potential for the first time. He felt a snarl build up him and was surprised to find he suddenly didn't like the idea of Potter finding Malfoy attractive and thought it was about time to step in.

"Mr. Fedox," Snape sneered at the still dreamy-eyed seventh year, "I would prefer it if you left you declaration of undying love towards the Mr. Potter, until you are outside of my ear shot so I do not have to be offended by your drawling." He had intended to throw the boy, but he had obviously been expecting some dig about him and Potter being an item (had he really become that predictable?) and instead seem to regain his relaxed composure and threw his arm lazily around Potter's shoulder and fixed his blue eyes on Snape's onyx ones.

"Ah, but are love just runs SO deep, Sir" the boy grinned back, several of the surrounding students sniggered at this and Snape glared. "And it's Ferox, Professor Snape, Jacob Ferox, and you are the Potions Master, am I correct?"

"You are Mr. Ferox, and that'll be ten points from Gryffindor for that public display!" Snape snapped as he tried to suppress the aggravating feeling that was building up in side him at the site of this Ferox boy with his arm round Potter. Wouldn't be jealousy now would it Severus? That voice suggested slyly. Ignoring it he turned to Potter and snapped, "Detention, eight pm, my office. Do NOT be late".

Lessons passed easily enough, today he had Double Astronomy, Divination and Care of Magical creature in the morning each of which Jacob had found dead easy and Harry, follow the trend from yesterday's lessons also found laughable. They had even spent they successful Divination lesson skrying in a bowl of water, laughing, as they were able predict the next sentences out of their friend's mouths and had fun butting in and twisting their meaning. This caused a lot of frustration amongst the other Gryffindors, as none of them were able to see anything in their bowls, Ron got particularly annoyed, feeling left out and stopped talking to him until Harry had apologised.

Harry and Jay had gone to visit Gavin and Megan at lunch and Jay had enthusiastically told his uncle all about his school (he had never attended a school before as all the gypsy children studied with the gypsy elder from a young age).

Afternoon lessons had been Herbology, which again Jacob had a natural talent for and Harry was improving at, and Charms, which the Gypsies did not attend along with Defence and Transfiguration as these subjects were very wizarding and wand orientated and the Gypsies had their own way of going about this. Eventually after some lazy hours not really working on his transfigurations essay. Harry glanced at the common room clock (just like the one in their bedroom) was pointing at 'time to get up' and 'DETENTION' which had presumed to mean that he should probably get moving or he was going to be late.

"Get up Potter!" Snape snarled as Harry knelt on the ground in front of his professor. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and felt dizzy. They had been back at school for almost two weeks now and his skills in Occulemency had much improved, although Snape could still break threw his walls if he used enough force. But, he could never stay inside his mind for very long. But today was different, Harry felt ill…very ill. He kept being knocked to the ground, as Snape delved openly through his thoughts, he had just stumbled across a particular memory, Harry did not want to share with him, with a huge amount of effort, he managed to force Snape out. The damage had been done though, as Snape now stared at him, a strange look had some across his face as he registered what he had just seen.

He tried to make it to his feet but he was having little success, everything was spinning around him. Something was definitely wrong, he had been at this for barely five minutes, but he could feel his control slipping away. As he slumped to the floor a strong arms came to wrap around him. He felt himself being lifted and carried somewhere, several minutes latter he registered those nice strong arms had left him and he was lying on something soft. The last thing he registered before he blacked – out was a potion being gently persuaded down his throat, a hand massaging his neck until he swallowed.

Snape threw a handful of power in the fire and yelled for Poppy, before spinning around to tend to the young man on his couch. Harry looked very pale, his face was dripping with sweat as though he had a fever and he was moaning quietly. Snape grabbed a blue potion from a shelf and gently persuaded the boy to swallow then grabbed a wet cloth and began to mop at his forehead in an attempt to cool him down. Potter had gone quiet now and Snape was started to getting extremely worried. As Popper climbed out of the fireplace he moved up so that she could examine the boy closely, but would not move away completely, an irrational sense of overprotection for the boy seemed to grip him. He was still coming to terms with what he had just seen.

The headmaster appeared moments later out of the fireplace, "Poppy", he questioned, his voice a little strained.

The Medi-Witch sighed and straightened up. "I honestly don't know Albus. He has a high fever, quickened heart rate; his vitals aren't looking good at all. Severus has given him a stabilising potion which seems to be keeping in the world of the living for the time being, but he's not responding to any of my normal charms or potions, his fever seems somehow magically induced."

The headmaster's gaze turned to the potion's master who knelt next to the unconscious boy, gently mopping his forehead, his face was as always, blank, but he could feel his concern showing threw his eyes as Albus' light blue drilled into him. "Tell me what happened, Severus." The old wizard asked gently.

Somewhere from the depths of the darkness came light...

_**A gentle mist was swirling around him in this grey world and he could and he could hear the trickle of water from a small stream and felt a gentle breeze on his skin. He realised he knew this place; he had been her many times before.**_

"_**Hello?" He called out; his voice seemed to echo a bit.**_

"_**Hello," replied the voice of a child. "I've lost my friend Laura, can you help me find her?"**_

_**He looked around but could not see the voice anywhere. "Where are you?" **_

_**The child's voice laughed at him "I am in the wind and the water. Where are you?"**_

"_**I am in Hogwarts" he replied, confused. "Where do you think Laura is?"**_

"_**Hiding," the child replied sadly, "far, far away".**_

Suddenly the scene changed, he was no longer in the damp place with the trickling stream but in a freezing world of snow and ice and another voice echoed around him.

_**"His is a great an evil power, he cannot be defeated by mere mortals. There will be great losses and great sacrifice. We have waited a thousand years, but now you are ready, child. You must search for the weapon of the North Wind, for only death lies down other paths."**_

The scene died away, blackness engulfed him, but for mere seconds only. Images began to bombard him, growing in intensity, images of deaths; his friends, his family, the Order, his teachers, the gypsies, muggles, centaurs, birds, dragons, unicorns and blood everywhere, crimson warmness seeping into his bones, feels of love, loss, grief, pain, hatred, anger pulsed threw him, as flashes of colour passed in front of his eyes. Endless images of endless possibilities all ending in death, destruction, genocide, slaughter. Then finally, the images slowed, he saw a new path, love, loss, grief, pain and death, but also happiness, life and hope. Then finally…. peace.

**Chapter 20…Lauretta and Lockhart...just what did Snape see? And Hermione's research turns out a new piece of the puzzle.**

**Special Thanks go to:**

**Rayz – Your wish is my command. Hope you noticed it took me only an hour to write and update chapter 18.**** :-)**


	20. Lauretta and Lockhart

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**AN/Looking for a BETA!If anyone would like to beta for me I'd be very grateful. I did have one, however we somehow lost in touch. Please send me a signed in review or review with an e-mail address if you are interested. Thank You!**

**VERY IMPORTANT WARNING! Contains mention of Paedophilia and Sexual Assault. Can't stomach? DON'T READ. You have been warned! On a gentler note, the mentions are just that, mentions. No graphic depiction or detailed explanations, nor will there be.**

**Chapter 20**

**Lauretta and Lockhart**

Snape glanced at the clock hanging above his fireplace: Midnight. He pulled on his forest-green robe and made his way to the sitting room. As he walked he fell into a silent muse. He had noticed Potter had been a bit of colour when he had arrived, he had decided to use this to his advantage and had pushed Potter in the hope that he could extract information. It had all been a little too easy and he now berated himself for not realising sooner that something was really wrong with the boy. That had been when he had seen Potter's memory, the piece of information they knew he'd been hiding. But it had not been what he thought it would be. No, he thought, not the usual teenage angst over love life problem or some other pettier incident.

Albus had asked him what had happened, what was he supposed to say? No, he had worked too damn hard to get Harry to trust him, to tolerate him, he wasn't about to throw that away by being a good spy by following the manipulative git's orders and coughing up Potter's secret. No, he could not play the betrayer, not again. Or maybe, that voice suggested, you like him. You like him and want him to like you…

'So?', Severus thought fiercely. 'Harry needs someone who cares about him, no one else gives a damn!'

Hmmm….'Harry' now, is it?

'Fuck Off'

Snape was relieved to see Harry had calmed down; he was sweating less and was less pale. While he had quickly explained Harry's abrupt collapse during their Occulemency session, Harry had gone into some sort of fit. He had let out terrified scream, sobs and groans, as lived threw what appeared to be a violent nightmare. Snape had held is flailing arms still as the young man convulsed in pain. Finally, almost an hour later and after three doses of Calming Draught he had calmed down enough for Severus to let go of him. Since Harry was rejecting magic it was decided that he would remain the night in Severus's quarters. He was to be administered a Stabilising Potion every two hours and Severus was to call Poppy should the boy take a turn for the worst.

Snape took grabbed the blue potion of a nearby shelf and took his seat in the armchair pulled close to the coach Harry lay asleep on. His breathing had returned to normality and although he was still sweating slightly, he was definitely looking less like a zombie and more like a more like your average seventh year student. He smirked down at the boy lying seemingly asleep before him.

"You can open your eyes Potter, I know you're awake."

"You can open your eyes Potter, I know you're awake."

Harry groaned; he knew that voice. He cracked an eye, which confirmed his suspicions he was in Snape's quarters, lying on Snape's sofa, wrapped up in Snape's Slytherin rug, with Snape looked right at him. He groaned again for good measure, and then reluctantly opened the other eye.

"Drink this," Snape ordered thrusting a rounded glass vile into his hands. It contained a royal blue potion Harry opened it and sniffed it, several ingredients automatically registered in his head. "It contains…"

"Stabilising Potion" Harry muttered absently. Snape gave him a look of surprise. To cover up his on surprise, Harry downed the Potion, cringing at his disgusting taste and handed the vile back to his Professor.

When Harry realised Snape hadn't moved and was still sitting staring intently at him, memories of the evening started flowing back. Not of his dreams, for those were fresh in his mind, but of their Occulemency lesson before. Emotions started flooding threw him and a look of horror escaped onto his face. Snape had seen…. Oh God! He'd no doubt called Dumbledore or Poppy at the very least, had Snape told them? Would they want to 'talk' to him about it? He vaguely registered that much of the rooms furnishing were vibrating dangerously.

Suddenly a strong hand appeared on his shoulder and that low gentle voice was flowing over him like a silk blanket. "Harry," he realised it was saying. "Harry, listen to me. I want you to calm down and look at me." There was not a hint of malice of disgust as he would have imagined, instead it was urgent, but gentle call. Harry took a deep breath, and looked up. Snape removed his hand as the room's contents stopped their vibration. Harry somehow felt a loss as that hand left him, he wanted to reach out and take those long elegant fingers in his own, have that tall sexy body wrap round him and hold him, and never let go. Harry mentally shock himself, clearing his head of those ridiculous thoughts and gazed back into those onyx eyes.

"Harry, was that the only time?" Snape asked him gently, not prying, more… reassuring. Harry nodded, yes, that had been the only time it had happened, it probably would have been more, had Snape not being watching him more closely. Snape breathed out a sigh of relief. "Did you talk to anyone about it?" He asked, again the question was gently, as though trying not to pry, of push the subject. Harry shook his head this time, no, would could he talk to about it? His friends? His head-of-house? Dumbledore? All of them thought so highly of him, they would have thought he was a failure, a disgusting, worthless creature just like his relatives. As though understanding his predicament, Snape sighed, "Harry, it is not your fault. You had no control over the situation; you didn't understand what was happening. I'm sorry there was no-one there for you to talk to, but you have to understand that it was NOT your fault."

Harry's head dropped so that he was staring at his lap. "I guess. I mean… It's not a big deal, he didn't actually…" But Snape cut him off swiftly.

"It IS a big deal, Harry. What Lockhart did was WRONG. He sexually assaulted you even if he didn't finish what he started. He'll go to Azkaban for this!" Snape fumed. Harry's head shot up again, Azkaban! They were going to make him give evidence! The whole of the wizarding world were going to know that he was too weak to protect himself from the stupidest teacher Hogwarts had ever seen.

"You told Dumbledore!" He exclaimed horrified.

"No Harry. I did not discuss this with anyone and I don't plan to. It is your choice weather you tell anyone else." Snape told him quickly.

"But…Azkaban? Won't they want be to testify, won't I have to tell Dumbledore?" Harry asked, confused.

"No, you will not have to do either. For evidence I can submit my memories of our Occulemency session and the memories I retrieved from you to a pensive for the Jury and Judge to see. I can do this with or without the Headmaster's knowledge depending on your preference." Snape explained to the anxious boy.

"But then won't people find out? If there's a court case, I mean? Won't the press find out?" Harry replied, scarred of the implications for the rest f the world finding out Harry's very personal secret.

"You Wizarding Courtman can ask for an Unspeakable Case. This means that the only people in attendance will be the two Courtman, the Jury, the Judge, the Accused, Witnesses and anyone one choose to allow in. All those present must take an unspeakable vow at the beginning of the case and will not be allowed to speak of the case to anyone, except you. Any witness statement and all memories will be preserved in a top secret archive and only the Judge and yourself will be able to access the pensive." Snape paused, letting this all sink in.

"So, I wouldn't have to even be there? No-one would know?" Harry asked, beginning to sound less dubious and more hopeful.

Snape nodded. "You wouldn't be under any obligation to attend, although I would need a sighed statement to say that you agree for me to give evidence on you behalf and you would have to meet you Courtman in person the once and he would also need a sighed statement to allow him to stand for you. Does that sound agreeable?"

Harry nodded, but had one last question. "This Courtman, who would it be?"

Snape looked thoughtful, "Courtmen don't necessarily have to be qualified as such, and any Witch or Wizard who holds a played job in a service can stand as a Courtman. For example anyone in the ministry could stand, so could any of the Hogwarts professors or any Auror."

Harry nodded again, "I'll think about it."

Snape smiled the transformation was stunning, gone was the hook sour scowling Potions Master; instead Harry was introduced to the hansom, silky haired, glittery-eyed human. Harry gaped at him. Snape just smiled!

"Oh! For god's sake Potter, there's no need to look at me like that! I'm sure you've seen me smile before." Snape snapped, but his voice was teasing and his smile was still in place.

"Yes, but that's only when I've just been told I'm about to get expelled!" Harry cried, but he too was smiling now.

Snape's smile faded, "I'm afraid my actions and feelings were a necessary facade. One which will have to continue as soon as you exit these rooms" he regretfully informed him.

Harry's smile also faded, he really liked this teasing gentle side of Snape, the Severus side, as he thought of it. But, Severus was right, he was a supposed Death Eater and Harry was the Golden Boy, and friendship or even cease fire, who arouse suspicion, something which could very well get Snape killed.

A smirk appeared on Snape's elegant face, "You are of cause still welcome for Remedial Potions." Harry pulled a face, but grinned. "Well, now we've got that most pressing matter all sorted, how about you return to your common room and try and get some sleep. I've no doubt I'll be seeing you around breakfast tomorrow in the Headmaster's office to discuss your visions."

As Harry walked back to Gryffindor tower, he couldn't help but wonder how Snape had know about his visions, had Dumbledore told ALL the staff, or had he told the Order at some meeting Harry hadn't been invited to. After all, it HAD been a while since there had been any order meeting, or at least any that Harry had been told about. But soon these thoughts made way for nicer ones…long pale fingers and onyx eyes…. hmmm, maybe he should have a cold shower before he went back to sleep…then again, it was very late…

True to Snape's word, Harry woke to find a letter on his nightstand. Pulling it open it read as follows:

_Mr Potter,_

_Would you please report to the Headmaster's office at 8am, Wednesday 18th September. You will be able to eat breakfast there, please bring your books and equipment for the day, in the event you are delayed for lessons._

_Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House._

Harry glanced at the dormitory clock: 'Time to get up'. He grabbed his clothes had a quick, very cold shower and headed of for his Spanish inquest with the headmaster. After an hour or so of explained his visions to Dumbledore, his head of house and Snape, while Poppy checked him over and he ate slices of buttered toast. Dumbledore came to the obvious conclusion that Harry's sudden fever had been caused by the new trait of being able to interact with the visions (he had always been watching the scene previously, unable to interact). But as predicted, no explanation could be given for the first vision, although Dumbledore did suggest the 'weapon of the North Wind' sounded as though it might be elemental or natural magic, which of course made sense when you considered this summer's events and Harry's new ability. Again, Dumbledore did not seem overly worried and waved a dismissive hand telling him not to worry, that he'd look into it.

Harry had questioned Dumbledore about Order meetings, asking when the next one was likely to be and asking that he, Ron, Hermione and the other seventh year order members be kept informed. Dumbledore seemed a bit thrown, as did McGonagall, though Snape was giving Dumbledore a look that clearly said 'I told you so' and it was then that Harry realised he had been right Dumbledore had intentionally been keeping him and the others out of order meetings recently and had told the other members not to mention the recent meetings. Well that trick wasn't going to last any longer, Harry planned to keep in better contact with Fred, George, Bill and Remus to make sure they would know if they were left out again.

Arriving at Herbology only five minutes late, Harry quickly joined Ron, Hermione and Jacob deseeding herringpods.

"The manipulative bastard has been keeping us out of Order meeting!" Harry hissed to Ron and Hermione. Ron looked outraged; Hermione didn't look at all surprised.

"Order meetings?" Jacob asked confused.

"Special group independent of the ministry dedicated to fighting Voldemort, Dumbledore heads it." Hermione quickly supplied sending a glare in Harry's direction. "It's supposed to be a secret."

"Where were you last night?" Ron asked worried, "you didn't turn up and you weren't here this morning. We checked the infirmary and you weren't there and we ask McGonagall but she just told us 'not to worry'." Ron scowled at this last part. Just like Dumbledore, Harry thought.

"I collapsed in…remedial potions…. and passed out. I had two more visions and it was really late when I came round and got back to the Gryffindor tower so I didn't want to walk you, and I had to go talk to Dumbledore this morning." Harry explained. Hermione lent forward suddenly very interested.

"New visions? What sort? Did anything interesting happen in them?" She asked quickly, eyes glazed as the cogs in her brain started to spin. So, Harry once again found himself explaining his visions. He was very careful to use the precise wording of the conversations, as he knew it could be key in Hermione's research.

"So, the first one you interacted with?" Jacob asked, Harry nodded. "The child's voice... was it male or female?"

Harry frowned and thought about this for a moment. "I don't know, it was sort of both and neither at the same time, It's hard to explain."

"Probably not important then," Hermione dismissed this but then asked, "What about age?"

This, Harry found, was easier. "Sort of about Megan's age I guess, five or six. Definitely not older than six."

"Okay, so I guess that means this Laura person's about the same age then." Ron put in beheading his Herringpod by accident.

"So, that leaves this wind and water part. Jacob? Doesn't that sound very elemental?" Hermione asked with that know-it-all look on her face.

"Yer I guess, it's sort of like when people die. We believe that for a short while after the body is cremated a person's soul and magic mix with the living world, but do not completely dissolve into it. The purpose is to pass on knowledge and images to loved ones before their magic dissipates and the soul is passed on in reincarnation to a new living creature or substance." Jacob explained.

"That would mean that the voice that was talking to Harry is the voice of a dead child." Ron shivered at the image.

"Well, that does make sense of course when you think that in the second vision Harry had, the voice said "We have waited for a thousand years."", Hermione said in her superior tone.

"Wait, no, that wouldn't work!" Harry exclaimed. "Remember, the magic dissipates quickly after a cremation and the soul is passed on. Just like the funeral at the beginning of term. She wouldn't still be able to contact me a thousand years later."

"Unless, of course her message was too important NOT to be passed on, meaning her magic and soul were trapped in suspension." Hermione put in. Ron, Harry and Jacob stared at her confused, then Ron shook his head to clear it.

"And anyway, Laura's a bit of a modern name for someone who lived a thousand years ago isn't it." He concluded, to end the debate.

"Yes, unless of course…" Hermione trailed of a look of understanding dawning on her face. She suddenly grabbed her back and equipment and rushed out of the greenhouse, calling back over her shoulder that she'd see them at mid-morning break.

"Is she not going to tell us what she's thinking?" Jacob asked confused at the girl's sudden departure.

"You'll be lucky," Ron replied, he and Harry far too used to Hermione's antics started to clear away as the lesson ended.

"She's gone to the library." Harry replied, "Come on, or we'll be late for divination."

It wasn't until Mid-morning break had almost ended and they were heading to Transfiguration, that the Bumped into Hermione. Jacob would be thoroughly disappointed to have missed Hermione's new discovery, but as it was he did not take transfiguration and would be spending the next two hours in Muggle Studies. When Hermione reached them she was very excited and had a huge dusty old volume in her hands, thumb stuck in the appropriate page.

"I found it!" She exclaimed, "I knew I'd read something similar, it all ties in, of course it was all very critique, but then it probably did get a bit twisted after a thousand years, but it's a good thing I've read this before or I'd never have found it. You just wouldn't think to look for something like this."

As they arrived at Transfiguration ten minutes early, they pushed Hermione into a seat and waited patiently for her to realise they were wanting an explanation. "Oh, sorry. Well first of all, this" Hermione pulled out a small plastic backed book, "Is a muggle story book. It one of mine when I was very young." She flipped it to the right page and continued. "It contains myths and legends and well as completely made up stories, and this one; 'A necklace of Raindrops' by Joan Aiken is about a girl called Laura."

"I bet loads of muggle books have stories about girls called Laura!" Ron complained annoyed that Hermione's explanation was so slow and that this didn't seem to be going anywhere.

"Yes," Hermione continued patiently, "But this story mentions a 'North Wind'. The story goes that one night during a storm when Laura was still a baby her parents rescued a…" Hermione paused and read from the book. "…"Tall man with a long grey cloak, and a long grey beard, and the brightest eyes you ever saw" from where he was stuck in a Holly tree." Ron sniggered at this, but Hermione ignored him and continued. "He claims to be the 'North Wind' telling them it is his job to blow the storm away. In return for their help, the 'North Wind' becomes Laura's godfather and gives her a necklace with a single raindrop hanging from it. With this necklace came special powers and each year on her birthday the North Wind returns and adds one each year and as more are added her powers grow. Finally, when Laura is nine, just before her birthday when she is to receive her final raindrop, the story tells how the necklace is stolen from her by a girl called 'Meg'." Hermione's eyes connected with Harry's and Harry and Jacob sat up straighter.

"It then goes threw this whole long winded and unlikely story of how she gets its back and finally gets her last raindrop even threw her godfather's anger, which or course is for the most part irrelevant." Hermione put down the muggle storybook and turned to the large old volume. "The thing is, although the writer was obviously muggle, she must have had some magic ancestor's or at least come across a magic text, because in a twisted way, the base of the story is true." Hermione flicked to the right page and explained, "This is an very old magical book of folklore and this chapter tells of a very old group of mages. They lived almost two thousand years ago and were able to wield natural and elemental magic and ruled over most of the magical world, although magical and non-magical was rather more blurred in those days. It was around the time of Merlin, in fact Merlin was very likely one of them, if this folklore turns out to be true."

"The mages ruled for almost a thousand years, but they fought and had different ways of thinking and were slowly killed of from war and old age, there seemed to be few descendants. Finally, about a thousand years ago only one line of the old mages existed, the 'North Wind' as he was called was one of the air mages, he was the oldest living and though his own children had been killed, he was left with ten grandchildren. Knowing he was to die very soon, but wishing for the mages to live on and hold the magical world together, he called his ten grandchildren and granted them each a magical necklace, each one for a different type of magic, it was to be passed down to the youngest child of generation." Hermione looked up as Professor McGonagall entered the room but continued in a whisper, "The children were then sent to each corner of the each and were adopted by the highest magical leaders of that area. The children would grow up to govern the magical world."

Hermione called her name on the register. Waited for Ron and Harry to do the same and lent forward again. "The children had been away almost two months and everything had gone well until the old mage heard news that one of his female grandchildren, Lauretta, who was six and held the Soul necklace had been sold by her adopted father to a neighbouring country they had been at war with, in return for the safe keeping of his land. The 'North Wind' was said to be furious. He had people search for her for almost a year before he died, his people kept on searching for her, but Lauretta and the necklace were never found. The other governors and countries began to follow suit ignoring the pacts they had made with the last mage letting the children leave and do as they pleased, kept away from leadership and knowledge and soon the knowledge of the mages and the necklaces turned to fable and was lost."

"Mrs Granger! This is highly unlike you. That is the THIRD time I've had to tell you to stop talking. Ten points from Gryffindor!"

**Chapter 21…Naming and Shaming. Harry goes to see Old Grandma Thyme who has a few tricks up her sleeves and Jacob and Harry show their differences when it comes to men. :-) ****Hoped you liked, I think that was the longest chapter I've written yet and hopefully the most interesting! So we've now found out who this 'Laura' person is…now we just have to find out what all this has got to do with Harry…and what about this Snape business…. ;-)**

**Special thanks go to:**

**Lady Lily3**

**TonksFan693**

**High Low**

**Guinn Pern – well now you know who Laura is. You'll have to keep reading to see how Harry and Snape get together!**

**Hittocerebattosai**

**Kyaku-kun**

**Findirector – Thank you for your gentle criticism! Suggestions for Beta's would be very welcome.**

**Glad you guys enjoyed!**


	21. Naming and Shaming

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**AN/ LOOKING FOR A BETA! If anyone would like to beta for me I'd be very grateful. I did have one, however we somehow lost in touch. Please send me a signed in review or review with an e-mail address saying you're interested. Thank You!**

**AN/ This chapter turned out a little different from how I had planned.**

**Chapter 21**

**Naming and Shaming**

It wasn't until lunch when the trio met up Jacob again that they were once again able to talk freely. After giving a quick explanation to Jay, they made there way back to the great hall for lunch. Talking excitedly over their new discovery.

"What I don't get," put in Ron, "is if this is real, then how come no one ever came across these necklaces?"

They were all very pensive for a moment. "Well…" Harry began, "I guess, people have come across them, they've probably still been passed down, it's just their significance was lost along the way. So people have probably been using them, thinking they're just very expensive well-charmed necklaces."

"Yes!" Hermione cried, "Of course! In Joan Aiken's story, the muggle one, the girl who wears the necklace claps her hands to make it stop raining or blows her nose to make it start and silly things like that the owners, if they're magical that is probably think they're just normal wizarding necklaces, very ancient child's toys. I imagine people haven't realised how powerful they are because they simply didn't think that the necklace were anymore than basic magic tricks!"

"Well then, looks like we've solved it all. Do we go to Dumbledore now?" Ron asked unsure, now that they seemed to have come to the end of their investigation.

"No," Hermione shook her head. "That still doesn't explain why Harry's having visions or what exactly the weapon is, something to do with the necklaces, that much is obvious, but what?"

"And we can't just go up to someone and tell them on the off chance they'll believe us," jay put in wisely. "We'll need some more evidence than a folklore and a couple of dreams, no offence Harry."

"None taken."

So it was agreed that for now they would keep the discovery quite until they came up with more proof of folklore's existence. Jacob and Harry made a quick visit to the camp before the end of lunch, Harry had a lively chat with Megan before checking on Taz, promising to come back that evening for some exercise, it had been a while since they'd had a decent ride.

Afternoon lesson was double flying; this was their only flying lesson a week and had so far been cancelled due to bad weather, so today would be their first lesson of the year. Flying was always a laugh mainly because if you hadn't learnt to fly by second year it was generally acknowledged that you never would and you were given quiet permission to take personal study time instead. However, even Hermione, who was never going to be a natural flyer, had learnt to mount a broom a fly and keep in the air even if she could do little else. So flying lessons were less like lessons and more like relaxed gatherings where Madame Hooch introduced them weird and wonderful on-broom games that they practiced while having laid back discussions about the latest racing broom or Quidditch team.

As the Golden Quarto as, they were now becoming known, arrived at the Westside of the castle grounds, Jacob was starting to look very nervous. Harry frowned and dropped back from Ron and Hermione to talk quietly to Jay.

"You okay Jay? You're not feeling ill are you?" Harry asked concerned for his close friend who was quickly turning a sickly green.

"Um…yer. Maybe I should sit this one out." Jacob replied looking dubiously at the students who were already flying about to get warmed up.

Sensing Jacob discomfort, Harry stopped him and looked at him closely, slightly confused. "Jay, I thought you loved flying!"

Jay gave him a weak smile, "I love Quidditch because Oliver Wood has a really nice ass. I'm terrified of heights. I mean horses are fine, but anything higher..."

"Oh!" Harry felt like a complete idiot, how come he hadn't realised before. "Well, I'm sure it can't be that bad. It's not all that different from riding a horse, you don't have to go high if you don't want to and you can take it really slowly."

"No. Really, Harry. Humans are just not meant to fly, it's completely unnatural and only some barmy wizard would come up with the ridiculous idea of flying on a bit of firewood. No way! You are NOT getting me doing that." Jacob concluded firmly. By this time most of the class had stopped to listen to the argument and Madame Hooch was standing next to them.

"It's alright Mr. Ferox, no-one is going to make you if you really don't want to." Madame Hooch told him gently, although she did look rather disappointed. Several muttered comments reached Harry's ears, unfortunately for Flying they were paired with Slytherin, although they new usually mixed during this lesson unless on Madame Hooch's order. The comments were by no means nice; no one had down right refused before without at least giving it a go. Jay ignored the comments, although he did look decidedly upset when Malfoy made a noise that sounded much like 'wuss' (he had giving up on his pursuit of Malfoy for the moment as he had said he needed an action plan).

"Why don't you and Mr. Potter find something else energetic to do this session? I dare say Mr. Potter has plenty of time to practice flying during Quidditch practices." Madam Hooch suggested kindly.

A smirk appeared on Jacob's face and a gleam appeared in his eyes. "What an excellent idea. Thank you Professor Hooch." He grabbed a surprised Harry by the arm, dragging him away in the director of the camp, the gleam still in his eyes. "I've got an idea he told Harry, a very large grin spreading across his face.

Twenty minutes later Harry and Jacob were riding back towards the camp on the respective horses. As they arrived they pulled to a halt as Harry pulled out his wand to create several large natural fences and logs lying spread around the area below where the Flying lesson was taking place. Next a set of cones appeared spread out in a long line then a small round area, and then finally a long racetrack marked out by white lines with a flag at the near end and a post at the opposite. They then set about warming up.

Jacob practiced slowly cantering over some of the jumps, while Harry practiced doing handstands on Taz's back. This was something Jacob had been teaching Harry for several weeks now, for the purpose of doing 'vaulting' on horse back neither horse had a saddle, instead a thick padded girth wrapped around the horse's waist with two handles on the top and hoops to put legs threw when sitting backwards. While Harry and Jacob were doing this, the Gryffindor's and Slytherin's from the Flying lesson above had dropped down to see what they were up to. Madame Hooch was making no attempt to regain her lesson, as she too was intrigued by the antics of the two boys below.

Finally Harry and Jay pulled up at the starting fence. Jay pulled out of the way, a stop clock appearing in his hand as Harry lined up. "Ready?" he asked Harry, the crowd above waited with baited breath and Harry steadied his horse, leaning forward in anticipation. Harry nodded. "GO!"

Harry and Taz flew towards the first taking a great leap over it as the crowd cheered and booed above. The excitement was electrifying just like flying, only even better as it was not just up to him; it was up to Taz too. But the sure-footed was excellent performing perfectly as he galloped swiftly over the remaining jumped, weaving delicately in and out of the cones the slowing as they entered the area. Taz dropped into a steady rhythmic canter as Harry preformed the agree acrobatics, first turning round, then swinging sideways with his head down near the floor and legs in the sky then pulling himself back on forward to gently lift himself into a rather wobbly handstand. He finally seated him self and they were off! Dodging out of the area Harry reached over t grab the flag before they flew down the racecourse at full tilt and at the last pace, Harry let go of Taz's reins and lent forward to place the flag in the flagpole. "STOP!" he yelled, and both horse and rider pulled up panting heavily to the huge cheers of the Gryffindor's above, even the Slytherins had fallen silent seemingly impressed.

"Six minutes, forty-nine seconds. Not bad." Jay informed him promptly as he passed the stopwatch over and turned to line up with the start. "Now you get to see how the professionals do it." He winked up at the crowd. "Ready!" He called calmly.

"GO!" Jay and horse flew over the jumps at a terrific speed, although not as agile as his own horse, Jacob's made up for it in speed and strength and was round the jumps in no time, which made up for taking the curing cones slightly slower. Above him the cheers began to roll in and Harry realised Jay's plan was working; unsure who they should be cheering for and not wanting to take sides, the Gryffindor's cheers were rather thin and a bit scattered, Slytherin on the other hand, wanting to see Harry beaten and seeing Jay as Harry's opponent were cheering extremely loudly.

Jacob slowed as he entered the area, his horse quickly adopting a steady rhythm with great ease. It was here that the difference was really seen; Jacob, despite being very tall was extremely athletic and agile, much like a gymnast. He completed the moves flawlessly with the effortless balance of someone who had been vaulting from a very early age. His vaulting was almost hypnotic to watch as he made seamless transitions from one move to the next. Suddenly, the slow dance was over and he and horse flew to the racecourse and down in, flag streaming in the wind as he finally deposited it into the flag post, pulling up it far better condition than Harry. He smiled at Jacob; he really did live up to his name; 'Sussuro Ferox', horse whisperer.

As the lesson came to an end and the students returned to the ground, Harry and Jacob were both complimented and thumped on the back, while their horses were fussed over. Harry spied Malfoy approaching and smirked looking away and asking Hermione a question while surreptitiously listening in.

"Nice moves, Ferox." Came the cool compliment from Malfoy junior. Jay let a small smirk appear at the corner of his mouth, testing the waters he let out the statement;

"Yer, but its mostly the horse that does all the work," Jay let forward and gave the muggle beast an affectionate, waiting to see if Malfoy could hit the million dollar answer.

The Slytherins were beginning to sneer at Jay, but Malfoy ignored them, "And a very hansom creature he is too…" Harry smirked, he could almost he the silent 'just like his rider' on the end. The Slytherins feel quiet respecting their 'leader's' decision whilst Jay gave the poor unsuspecting Malfoy his drop-dead-on-the-spot-because-I'm-so-gorgeous smile, which made several of the girls (irrespective of their house) sigh heavily, and Harry was pleased to see Malfoy also seemed to be quite breathless.

"You're welcome to have a go, if you'd like. I'm a very patient teacher, after all, I managed to teach Harry to ride!" Jay joked to which Malfoy smirked.

"I'm not sure Wizard's were meant to ride on the backs of wild animals, I just doesn't seem natural!" Malfoy replied mockingly.

Jay pretended to look hurt. "It's more natural than riding on piles of sticks!" He retorted.

"Well, I guess that's a challenge then!" Malfoy replied, mock formality as though he was defending his pride.

"Seven O'clock, in the camp, blue and green Wagon. I'll give you some proper riding lessons!" Jacob winked before whirling round and cantering off in the direction of the camp. Harry pulled Taz out of the crowd and quickly followed as the students retreated into the Castle.

"You schemer!" Harry accused, as he caught up with Jay, "I think you should have been put in Slytherin not Gryffindor!"

Jay laughed wildly, hair whipping in the wind. "Ah, yes! And now I'm going to have the sex god that is Draco Malfoy all to myself for the rest of the evening!" Harry just laughed in reply his own very long hair coming loose of it's binding and flying along behind him. "What about you Harry? How's your quest with the greasy git going? I presume you stayed the night with him when you said you collapsed in 'Remedial Potions'? We didn't get up to any Hanky Panky did we?" Jay teasing, quickly diving out the way as a fist swung in his direction. They then proceeded to spend the next fifteen minutes having a lively ride playing a sort of two-person game of tag. Both becoming pink-checked with the brisk wind and their eyes alight with laughter.

Unbeknown to the two young men, a pair of onyx eyes watched them from the edge of the lake. The eyes followed the dark-haired boy's every move as he cantered here and there on his playful black horse. The sight of his bright emerald eyes and long whirling hair was intoxicating and his eyes were drawn to the man's body, a loose silk black shirt draped over his toned upper-torso and his long muscled legs were clad in forest green trousers that were a very snug fit leaving no part of his body to the imagination.

Later that evening when Jay didn't particularly want any interruptions, Harry took Megan to seen Grandma Thyme.

"Megan!" She croaked as the young girl careered threw the curtains, "I hope you've bought that hansom man to see me again?" Megan giggled and pulled Harry to her side.

"Hello Cassandra, I'm so sorry it's been so long since I last looked in on you." Harry replied squeezing grandma Thyme's hand as Megan jumped onto the bed. "I found out who 'Laura' is…"

"Ah! I thought that clever young lady friend of yours would find something before long, very extraordinary lady!" Harry grinned at the old Lady, too bad Hermione wasn't here; she'd be blushing madly!

"Well…she actually found something in a muggle story and from the sketchy facts managed to trace it back to an old magical folklore." Harry replayed all that they had found out about Necklaces and North Wind. When he had finished his tale, Grandma Thyme remained quiet for several minutes contemplating this new information.

"Hmmm, yes I had suspected, but of coarse old folklores passed down threw gypsy cans can sometimes become a little unreliable. But this new source of information does make it far more credible, as well as your visions of course…" She trailed of looking into space.

"So…what does it have to do with me? Why am I getting these visions? Why not somebody else?" Harry asked confused.

Grandma thyme smiled at him, that all-knowing smile that was so like Dumbledore's and infuriated him no end. "Well my dear, I believe you are not the only one to be having these visions and the folklore." She replied cryptically.

"Others ARE having visions, then who, how many?" Asked Harry thoroughly confused now.

"Why nine other people, to be precise, if my suspicions are correct." Grandma Thyme replied, a look of understanding started to dawn on Harry's face. Grandma Thyme ignored him and turned to Megan who had given up on the conversation and was playing with the two kittens she'd brought with her. "Megan, why don't you tell Harry about that dream you had about the big garden.

Megan beamed and turned to her adoptive big brother, "Well…I was playing in a really big garden with lots of big tress and palm trees with a princess and it was her birthday, only all the plants were dying and all the grass was dead and everything was really dry. The princess said that if I blew my nose it would start raining and the plants would live again, so I blew my nose and it did!"

Harry suddenly had a flash back to the night Megan's aunt and uncle had been created and the visions he had seen when the magic tendrils had touched him:

_A tall man with a long grey cloak and a long grey tree in a Holly tree…A baby wrapped up in a cloth in a white crib…and a garden of dead flowers and plants and a tall palm tree._

Harry replies the flashes he had seen had been to do with the folklore as well; the grey man was the North Wind, the young baby Lauretta or one of her brothers and sisters and the dead garden the same garden Megan had seen, maybe one Lauretta had visited. So Megan was also having visions, did this also make her one of the descendants, but then so too was grandma Thyme, wasn't she having visions too? Harry voiced his questions.

"Yes Harry you are right; both Megan and yourself are the youngest descendants of two of the mage's children. Am quite rightly also a descendant, as are most of the Oldmoore family, however I am not the youngest and therefore the ability passed down from the mage, whatever that may be, will only become apparent threw Megan, the visions for one thing, are one part of this ability." Grandma Thyme explained, yes, thought Harry, this made sense when compared to what Hermione had already told him.

"But you were the youngest descendant once, so did you have powers and visions then?" Harry asked eagerly.

"While my own magical ability may have been heightened at the time, I did not show any possession of unusual power and I had no visions, I suspect this may be because I was simply unaware of my own abilities, although the visions may be specifically being sent or passed on o you and Megan for a reason, for example, there may be need for all the descendant to come together to stop a growing evil, or protect something specific." Grandma Thyme replied seriously, blue eyes boring into Harry.

"So how do we find the other descendants if they were scattered throughout the world?" Harry rubbed his forehead; he was beginning to get a headache.

"Touché"

I did not occur to Harry until much later when he returned to the Gryffindor common room and was retelling the story to Ron and Hermione, (Jacob was still unavailable), that he had not asked about the necklaces.

"Hmmm…that is an interesting question, you don't think you own one Harry?" Hermione asked after some contemplation.

"Nope, maybe Aunt Petunia has it?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"I doubt you mum would have given it to her if she knew the tradition, despite being a girly thing. She or you were probably wearing it when your parents dyed." Hermione replied quietly.

"So…Gringotts vaults then?" Harry asked uncertainly. Hermione nodded.

"Either that or Godric's Hollow," Ron pitched in munching through a sandwich. Hermione gave him a look.

"What? The house was destroyed and they only saved Harry, the necklace could be still be in the ruins." Ron replied.

Hermione had a look of sudden realisation. "Or Dumbledore might have taken it!"

"What why would he do that?" Ron asked confused.

"Think about it!" Hermione hissed frantically, "Harry's the Boy-Who-Lived, he wasn't killed!"

"…And Dumbledore would want to know why!" Harry exclaimed understanding where Hermione was taking this.

"So let me get this right, you think if Harry WAS wearing it, it could have been what stopped the killing curse?" Ron butted in, finished with his sandwich.

"Yes. Dumbledore would have of course come to that very same conclusion when Harry was delivered to him wearing the necklace, his curiosity would probably have got the better of him, he's probably been trying to figure out how it works ever since!" Hermione finished, pleased with herself for this discovery.

"Okay, so say Dumbledore HAS got Harry's necklace, what you going to do, go up to him and ASK him nicely for it?" Ron asked.

"Well…it does belong to Harry." Hermione began. A snort came from behind them. They spun quickly as Jay leaped over the sofa and landed heavily on Harry's lap, which caused a lot of whining from the smaller Black-haired boy, but since he Jacob insisted on staying put, they turned back to their conversation.

"Jay's right," Harry continued, "there's now way Dumbledore's going to GIVE it to me, he'll probably deny its existence."

"You could at least TRY…" Hermione whined.

"No. We'd have to tell him everything and I'd turn into even more of a used weapon than before. I don't trust Dumbledore at the moment, I'd rather continue this by ourselves for now." Harry crossed his arms and slumped back.

"We could always…"

"NO Ron! We are not STEALING it!" Hermione cut in before Ron could finish his sentence. "We'll just have to wait for opportunities to arise or further information." Hermione finished strongly, stopping all further conversation on the subject.

"So…anyone wanna know how my evening went?" Jay grinned broadly.

"Not really no," Harry replied trying in vane to push the man off his lap. "you can keep Malfoy all to yourself."

"EWWW! You're REALLY going after Malfoy? I thought that was a joke!" Ron replied a look of repulsion on his face.

"Oh Ron!" He received a whack from Hermione.

"Not 'going'…'gone'…Mr. Draco Malfoy is now MY person sex slave!" Jay replied with a wink.

"I REALLY don't want to know!" Ron Replied putting his hands over his ears, Hermione looked amused.

"Is he any good?" Harry asked grinning.

"HARRY!" Ron yelled.

"A GOD, simple a God!" Jay replied dreamily. Then he seamed thoughtful, "Standard army issue, maybe a tad on the large size!" The grin widened.

"OH MY GOD! WILL YOU TWO STOP IT!" Hermione and Harry were laughing out right now.

"But please keep it shtum, I'm not sure if he wants this to be a public thing or not, I mean he IS a Slytherin and I AM a Gryffindor." Jacob put in seriously.

"Relax, we won't say anything!" Harry replied. "You going back to the wagon for the night?" Harry asked with a wink.

"Yer, that okay?" Jay asked concerned, after all it was Harry's wagon too.

Harry waved it off, "That's fine it's not like I stay there anytime except for weekends now. I'd better go now, I've got Occulemency now."

Jay grinned. Harry gave him a filthy look; things with Snape hadn't been going too well the last couple of weeks, he was being nicer, yes…but well, Harry was too chicken to do anything other than drool. Some were lucky!

**Chapter 22…Broomsticks and Cauldrons, Hogwarts prepares for its first Quidditch match of the season, Snape finds a potion for Harry, while Harry has to make a hard decision.**

**Special thanks got to:**

**Lady Foxy Roxy – thanx for the Cookies!**

**Kyaku-kun**

**Jensindenial3516**

**hittocerebattosai – I though Hermione talking in class would be a funny touch!**

**Guinn Pern – I have big plans for the necklace theme…but that won't be till later.**

**moonlight-princess2000**

**Skatherine – Bere with me, the first couple of chapters a very background reading. Sorry about the punctuation, looking for a Beta.**

**Lady Lily3- Thanks for reviewing yet again!**

**Sh'arra Rie – No Harry will not be able to concur the world without thought, it will take a LOT of effort with a lot of help from other people to get rid of Voldemort! As I said, I will not be going into detail about Harry's unfortunate experience with Lockhart, you will have to look elsewhere if that's the sort of story you would like to read. However, I will hopefully clear up any confusion over the situation later and will explain a little better when Lockhart is taken to court.**


	22. Broomsticks and cauldrons

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**AN/ LOOKING FOR A BETA! If anyone would like to beta for me I'd be very grateful. I did have one, however we somehow lost in touch. Please send me a signed in review or review with an e-mail address saying you're interested. Thank You!**

**Chapter 22**

**Broomsticks and Cauldrons **

As Harry arrived at the door to Snape's private rooms he hissed a greeting to the snake portrait in front of him, which replied to his greeting and opened readily for him. Technically, he should have knocked and waited for Snape to answer the door, however ignoring politeness and aggravating Snape was much more fun. He had still yet to find a way to keep out Harry, although to his credit it had only taken Snape two un-passworded entrances from Harry to realise he had been talking in Parseltongue to the doorkeeper.

The door swung open and Harry was surprised to find the room inhabited by two people; Snape had never had any visitors before. Snape stood at the table decanting a fowl-smelling potion while his companion combed threw Snape's extensive bookcase, back to the door. The man had a mop of greying chestnut-brown hair, pale skin. He wore a long brown coat, which was defiantly looking the worse for wear, and he could do with a new pair of leather boots too. He turned around to face him, when Snape gave Harry his usual sarcastic greeting.

"You're late, you lazy brat!" Snape snapped, but his eyes held no real venom. "And what did I tell you about knocking! Five points from Griffindor!" Harry just laughed; they both knew Snape was only irritated because he couldn't keep him out. 'He's got a point, what if I walk in on him naked or something?' Mmmm…you know that's why you really do it don't you. 'Shut up'.

"Harry!"

"Remus!" Harry flew across the room to great his father's last remaining friend (Peter didn't count, besides he'd be dead soon if Harry had anything to say about it!). "How are you, you're looking well. Have you found a job yet? What are you doing here?"

Remus laughed at him, smiling warmly. Harry smiled back; smiles were very rare from Remus these days, since they'd lost Sirius. "I am very well thank you, I'm just here to collect a new batch of wolfsbane potion for next week, I like to have a nice strong one for Halloween. And yes, I've found a job, in fact I started last month, I was going to send you a letter but I've been very busy actually."

"You should be careful working for the ministry, Lupin. I wouldn't put it past them to find some way to make you snuff it once you've served your purpose." Snape hissed as he bottled the last of the potion.

"Thank you Severus, I'll be watching my back very carefully I assure you." Remus replied politely, packing bottles of potion into his pockets.

"You're working for the ministry?" Harry asked surprised, they'd always refused him work before.

"Yes, I'm tracking dangerous magical creatures, more specifically; werewolves. The ministry have recently built some secure, comfortable safe houses for the werewolf community to use during the full moon and are know supplying us with money to buy wolfsbane, at last! Unfortunately after such a long time of persecution, most of the werewolf community live in hiding with little or no contact with the wizarding world and have no way of knowing of the new state of affairs. That and the fact that many simple don't trust the ministry," Remus concluded.

"I'm not surprised!" Harry cried, "Are you sure this isn't a trap?"

"Yes, very sure Harry, the project manager is Kinsley Shacklebolt, he's a member of the order." Remus smiled back, he seemed so very happy with the new proceedings. He deserved to be; after all it was all his hard work that had made this happen. "Anyway, I won't be working with them long, just long enough to spread the word and gain trust, then I'll be using this ministry job as insurance for a normal, non-ministry based job. Hopefully I'm on the road to becoming a regular member of the wizarding world at last."

"Congratulations Remus!" Harry laughed, hugging him. It was that Harry noticed Snape staring at him; he was trying to say something without saying it. He glanced at Remus.

"You know Lupin they should give you a medal for great SERVICES for the ministry." Snape drawled sarcastically, however he had his eyes on Harry and had emphasised the word service for some reason. Then it hit him; Remus had a paid job in a service (the ministry), he could act as Harry's Wizarding Courtman.

"What's wrong Harry?" Remus pulled back concerned, feeling his discomfort.

"Erm…" Harry began, not sure how to do this. Snape came to the rescue however, conjuring up a tray of tea and sandwiches.

"Maybe we should take a seat." Once they had all taken a few sips of tea and relaxed, Snape continued allowing Harry to stare out the window. "Well as you know, Potter has learned elemental magic over the summer and has lost his control on it more than once this term."

"Yes Albus said…" Remus trailed off as though realising something.

"It's alright," Harry replied, miserably. "I already know that Dumbledore's been discussing me at ordering meetings he neglected to invite us along to."

Remus looked surprised, then amused. "I didn't think it would take you long to realise. For all his insight, Albus can be completely blind sometimes. And it's Professor Dumbledore, Harry"

"Yes well, from now on would you please let me know if there's an order meeting so I can make a surprise entrance." Harry replied, a malicious smile growing on his face that would show Dumbledore.

"Of course," Remus replied smoothly, a twinkle growing in his eyes. "Albus told us about you unique abilities and your loss of control with Draco and Lucius Malfoy, is there something you want to tell me? Has something happened with the Malfoy's?" He asked concerned.

Harry took in a deep breath, "Its not what they did, more…what they said. They just hit a sore spot and made me angry."

Remus put an arm around his shoulder and squeezed, he suddenly looked sixty years old, "I know so much has happened to you over the years Harry, awful things have happened to all of us…" Harry new he meant Sirius, Remus and Sirius had been parted for so many years and then they finally got back together, only to have Sirius snatched away from him like that… Harry had hurt, a lot, but he couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Remus, who loved Sirius so deeply, thought that he'd betrayed him, found him again then to loose him. He'd barely lived threw last year, then they'd talked and Remus had thrown himself to helping the world in every and any way he could, that was how the werewolf acceptance had started from, it was all his work. "I'm here for you, you know that, we can always talk. We always do…"

"I know, this isn't about…anyone I've lost, or my responsibilities…." Harry replied his heart was pounding now; he couldn't do this.

"Teenage stuff then? I know I'm an old git and all, but I do remember what its like to be a teenager and I know it all matters, even the small silly things." Remus took a breath, then continued tentatively "I read some interesting newspaper articles…"

Harry gave him a weak grin, "Oh, yer…Surprise!"

Remus grinned back, "new you'd come to the light side and realise girls are boring! So…is it something to do with this, need a chat. You know Severus might not be half bad a that either."

Harry's face whipped round to look at the so far silent Snape who was sipping his tea. He sneered unpleasantly "Don't even think about it. I'm leaving the sex talks to you wolf, you can explain to him how it all works." Hmmm…bet you wouldn't mind showing him though… that voice purred. 'Shut it!'

Harry felt his face flushing a deep red and managed to reply, without stammering, "I'm seventeen, I don't need a sex talk thank you!" owww, so he is gay! 'You're NOT helping me!' The voice only sniggered in reply.

"I'm sure you don't." Came the mutter from the black-haired man next to him, although he wasn't looking too happy himself. Harry was sure he must be beetroot by now. Remus was watching the banter carefully, there was something between those two, he smiled; it was nice to see Severus uncomfortable for once.

"Alright, so you're not need sex talks or help on a teen level, are you going to make me keep guessing?" Remus asked gently.

Harry broke his gaze with Remus, remembering how this conversation had began…he glanced at Snape who gave him an encouraging look. So he blurted it all out at once: "Iwaswonderingifyouwouldbemywizardingcourtman."

"Huh? Say it again Harry, but maybe a bit slower this time." Remus replied patiently. Harry flushed with embarrassment.

"I was wondering if you would be my Wizarding Courtman."

"Oh."

"Indeed."

Snape took a long sip of his tea while Harry continued staring and Lupin found his next question. "Why do you need a Wizarding Courtman Harry? Are you in trouble? You didn't blow someone else up did you?" He asked tentatively, realising this was probably Harry's 'sore point'.

"Erm…."

"You would be standing as the Accusing Courtman, not the Accused." Snape replied sharply, Harry's heartbeat was going so fast he felt like he was going to faint. "Harry was the victim of a sexual assault during his second year and he would like to have his attacker prosecuted. For that, he needs a Courtman and I think we agreed that you would make an excellent choice. You are a serviceman at present." Remus glanced at Harry who gave a breathless nod.

"I think you'd better explain what happened, Harry." Remus replied gently.

"You'll do it?" Harry whispered hopefully.

"Of course I will." He replied giving his surrogate godson a hug. "Now would you like to tell me or would you rather show me?".

"I don't want to forget then be forced to remember again," Harry said shaking his head, for a memory to be viewed in a pensive it had to first be removed, Harry new that with very emotional memories putting them back could be very painful indeed.

"Wise choice, Harry. When you're ready…you can stop anytime you want and only tell me what you're comfortable with." Remus replied settling back into the sofa, letting Harry start in his own time.

"It was during second year. I had a detention, I can't remember what for…I got assigned to do it with…Lockhart…" Harry took a deep breath, he was finding this extremely difficult. After it had happened, he'd been in shock and after that he had just berried it really deep and somehow it hadn't been touched. But since he'd become open about his sexual orientation, he'd started to hear comments, some of them had been nasty and some of them had hit the hidden and silent target. "He said he wanted me to help him reply to his fan mail and we did, for a bit. Then he gave me a drink, it tasted funny, I shouldn't have drunk it. But I didn't suspect, he always seemed so harmless, an idiot, but a harmless one." Another break and a deep breath, both Remus and Severus were watching him with looks of deep concern and support and in Severus' case; pain…a knowing pain. He didn't want to think about that. "Then it was really hot and I took my jumper of, then my tie. But I was still hot, so he suggested I take my shirt off as well and somehow my body seemed to do it and in my head it didn't seem to matter. So it went on and then…he touched me and made me do things to him, its all kind of fuzzy." Another deep breath, "But he didn't…force me too…you know… and then it was over and I was dressed again and then I left." He finally breathed a sigh of relief that he'd got it all out.

"It was only the once?" Remus asked steadily, but Harry could tell he too was very upset by this. Harry nodded by way of response. Remus breathed a sigh of relief. "Who have you talked to about this?" He asked while looking sideways at Severus, when Harry didn't answer, Severus answered for him.

"I found out only recently by accident during one of our occlumency lessons. Harry was suffering from some of magically induced fever and before he passed out and had his vision, I broke into his mind and stumbled across the scene. We discussed it late when he awoke and the possibility of taking the matter to court arose." Severus explained evenly.

"I heard about what happened during your lesson, collapsing and giving Poppy and Albus such a scare, but that happened almost a month ago and did you not talk to Poppy and Albus as well." Remus asked somewhat confused.

"Harry did not wish me to discuss the matter with the Headmaster, or anyone else for that matter and we decided that it was up to Harry to decide whether he wanted to take Lockhart to court and who he wanted as his Courtman and until just now, I believe he was finding that position difficult to fill." Severus glanced at Harry, who nodded in appreciation, then frowned.

"But you could have told them when I was unconscious, you didn't. Why?" Harry asked confused, that was indeed very un-Snape like. Remus too seemed to find this question intriguing.

Snape was stumped; he didn't want to admit that he had not wanted to betray Harry's trust as that could lead to the realisation that Snape actually liked Harry…and well…that was just… not a Snape-ish thing to do. He'd have to suggest professionalism only. "With regard to war efforts I try to give Mr. Potter the same professional courtesy as he gives me. Any personal information we gain in regards to each other during our sessions we keep to ourselves."

"Thank you," Harry replied gazing into Severus' eyes, he acknowledged Harry with a slight nod.

"Well then, I will of course accept the position of Accusing Wizarding Courtman. I presume you will be applying for a Unspeakable Case?" Remus asked, all business-like now. Harry liked it this way; he didn't have to think about it too carefully. Snape replied for him:

"Naturally. I will be testifying for Harry, he does not wish to be present during the proceedings." Snape added. Harry meanwhile stared out the window as the two men discussed details and things that needed arranged. Almost an hour later when Remus got up to leave, Harry put down the book he had been reading and gave him an affectionate hug.

"Thank you," he whispered as Remus bid his goodbyes.

"That's perfectly all right, its what I'm here for. You know where to find me, come and talk to me at anytime, I shall be in and out over the next couple of weeks to arrange the court case and Severus and I will sort everything for you. Okay?" Remus told him sincerely. Then turning to Snape, a quick flick of a grin flashed across his face, "It's nice to hear you calling Harry by his first name." He told him in an amused voice and quickly left.

"We missed your training session, drop by again at eight tomorrow." Snape stated, ignoring Lupin's statement, although it did unsettle him somewhat.

"I can't, sorry, I've got Quidditch practice, then a practice for the Halloween display." Harry replied, glancing at the clock, it was very late; long past curfew.

"The day after then." He replied retrieving three vials of purple potion, "I have something for you."

"Why are you calling me Harry?" He asked Snape quietly; unsure of the ground he was treading on; 'did Snape actually…like him?' Bull's-eye! 'No, wishful thinking.' Or not…he's calling you HARRY! 'We'll see'.

"We are both working on the light side with the war effort, we have been working together in a relationship of more than teaching and pupil for the day you came here and since fifth year we have been working extensively together and now I find myself the confident of one of your greater insecurities and you are for many of mine. I think it's about time I stopped seeing you as you father and started seeing you as yourself. I call you by your first name as a sign of respect and acceptance." Snape looked straight into Harry's emerald eyes as he said this finding himself only a foot apart from the man.

In return Harry's eyes swam and heightened to a bright lime-green intensity and he nodded gratefully, then a small smile touched his lips. "Should I call you by your first name then?" Snape seemed thrown by this, unsure how to answer. "I both respect you and trust you as a partner in the war against Voldermort," Snape flinched but made no noise.

"Then I believe it to be only appropriate that you address me as Severus, but only within private and not in front of anyone that cannot be trusted, I respect your digression." Severus replied solemnly.

"Thank you…Severus." Harry replied, smiling gently. The onyx eyed man smiled back transforming his face.

"Now, I have this potion for you. Since you are finding it difficult to control your natural magic when you are emotional and occlumency will take a while before it gives you much of a positive effect, I have created this potion for you, it is an emotion control potion, which does just that, it controls your emotions. This does not make it do this permanently so, that would of course be very dangerous, however when taken every two days it will allow you to create a protective barrier between your logical self and your stronger emotions when your strongest emotions are unleashed." Snape explained handing the potions to Harry, "It only works on negative emotions however, this hopefully won't be a problem since you have yet to have lost control over your positive emotions, however you must be away of the possibility, just in case."

Harry nodded pocketing the vials, "Once ever two days, when I fell overwhelmed negative emotions I can create the shield and hold it back. Got it."

"Now then, I think you best be getting back to your common room. Take the west wing, filch tends to patrol the east wing at this time." Snape concluded opening the door for Harry. With a last look into those onyx eyes Harry left for Griffindor tower, a lot on his mind.

**Chapter 23…Visions, Preparations and an Order meeting. **

**Many thanks go to: All those wonderful reviewers, sorry I haven't posted for so long! I'm back up and running now, so hopefully you'll see more from me soon. Next Chapter should be a good one. Ta ta for now!**


	23. Visions, preparations and an Order Meeti

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**AN: YAY! Got a Beta at last...Big thanks goes out to Korogi-chan!**

**Chapter 23**

**Visions, preparations and an Order Meeting**

"_**Hello Harry, I've been waiting for you!"**_

"_**Why am I here?"**_

"_**You know why you're here…to help me find Laura!"**_

"_**Laura…you mean Lauretta, the mage's grandchild. I remember now…"**_

"_**Our Granddad?"**_

"_**You're one of his Grandchildren too?"**_

"_**Yes, my name's Divino Boreas and I'm five!"**_

"_**Boreas…is that you're family name?"**_

"_**Yes, but never mind that, what about Laura…have you found her yet?"**_

"_**Sorry, I haven't, but I'm getting closer. I know something that might help me find her…"**_

"_**What is it, I'll do anything! I miss her…"**_

"_**Did your grandfather give you and Laura a necklace?"**_

"_**Yes, we all got one, mine's purple!"**_

"_**What does it do?"**_

"_**I don't know…"**_

"_**What about Laura's, do you know what her's does?"**_

"_**No…but her's is emerald."**_

Harry woke to something cool and wet against his forehead. He had barely made it two paces from Snape's quarters before being hit fall-force with a vision. Opening his eyes he found he was yet again on Snape's coach, with Snape looking right at him.

"Dare I ask what happened this time?"

"Another vision."

"I assumed as much." Snape gave him an annoyed look, "Would youcareto elaborate?"

Harry thought for moment; telling Snape about his vision would reveal what Hermione had found out and the fact they had yet to go to Dumbledore with the new information. He wasn't sure quite how far to trust Snape, they may be on first name terms, but Severus had been on first name terms with Dumbledore for much longer. "You know, the usual."

Snape gave him a cool, but slightly amused look, "Something you would like me to withhold from the headmaster and order members?" He suggested.

Harry grinned, "Well, Hermione found out some more information…" Snape conjured up tea and sandwiches and Harry explained about the folklore, mages, the North Wind, and the necklaces. He paused to let the information sink in and contemplate telling Severus the final piece of information. Severus was looking deeply into his eyes, he felt like he could drown in those onyx ones; it was like looking deep into a pitch-black ocean. Finally he made a decision and told him about Grandma Thyme's belief that he and Megan were descendants because of their visions.

"This is all very interesting indeed. So we know that the mages existed and there are ten direct descendants who each hold great potential when wearing these necklaces, and we of course already know who two of the ten are." Severus closed his eyes for a moment and lent back into the sofa Slytherin green coach. Harry couldn't help staring at the pale flesh of his long elegant neck as he tilted his head back, it was almost like china, so smooth, no flaws at all, with the exception of a small slither-thin scar that ran around the top of his neck on the right hand side. It wouldn't have been noticeable were it not for the fact that Harry was looking so closely. Severus' eyes flew open and connected with Harry's for a split second a bolt of electricity seemed to fill him before he wrenched his eyes away from Snape's.

"Do you know of a crystal necklace in your family?" He asked Harry; seemingly unaware of the feelings he'd sparked in the younger man.

Harry took a deep breath before replying as calmly as he could; "My aunt has lots of expensive necklaces, it could be any of those."

"Unlikely, I would think it would be fairly obvious. A simple chain I imagine – gold or silver - holding a single crystal, possibly in a tear shape if the muggle story has and true origins. I imagine it would look quite outstanding being so old and being created by such a powerful person." Snape replied thoughtfully.

Harry shook his head. "No, I don't think so, Aunt Petunia always wears jewellery with lots of diamonds fordecoration."

"As I suspected. I wouldn't have thought Lily would have given it to her sister, not if she suspected it had magical origins, which I have no doubt she did." He nodded his head as if in conclusion. "Your family vault then."

Harry let out a breath and decided to let Severus in on their own suspicions, "Actually…we think Dumbledore might have it."

"The Headmaster?" Severus frowned, "That's very illogical, Potter."

"Harry. And it's quite the opposite, it quite logical. If my mum had given it to me when I was a baby and I was wearing it when Voldemort attacked, then it was probably what stopped him killing me and when I was taken to Dumbledore, he was probably found the intrigue irresistible and would have taken it to find out what magic it held." Harry finished, almost out of breath in his hurry to defend himself.

Snape looked at him severely, "For once, I believe you may have come up with a reasonable theory." Harry mock-scowled, then burst into a grin as the edges of Severus' mouth twitched. "What have you decided to do about it?"

"Nothing yet, I couldn't very well confront him, and while I'm not above…" Harry coughed guilty, "…stealing…well I don't think I'm likely to pull that off in Dumbledore's office with out him knowing. I was just thinking of waiting for the right occasion to arise."

"I knew it!" Snape snarled, "It was you who stole those ingredients out of my potions store in your second and forth year!"

"It was for a good cause, we only stole the stuff in second year to make a Polyjuice Potion to sneak into the Slytherin common room and find out who the heir of Slytherin was!" Harry defended.

"As it turned out you were wrong, it wasn't any of the Slytherin's and you broke four or five school rules!" Snape hissed, although Harry could tell from his eyes he was really quite impressed.

"And anyway it wasn't me who took the gillyweed from your stores in forth year, that was Dobby." Harry sulked.

"Who is Dobby?" Snape inquired, arching an eyebrow, "And there's no need to pout."

Harry flushed, but replied. "House elf, the death eater pretending to be Mad Eye Moody told Dobby to give it to me to stop me failing the contest."

"You do seem to get around don't you? Death Eaters, House Elf's, Werewolves, Animagus Godfathers, Gypsies…" Severus joked.

"Giant Spiders, Centaurs, Hippogriffs, Dementors, not to mention all the creatures in the Triwizard Tournament." Harry smiled back.

"Giant Spiders?" Severus arched an eyebrow, "Actually, I don't want to know."

Harry laughed and sprawled back on the coach and then flushed as he noticed Severus giving him an appreciative look. Severus for his own part wrenched his eyes away from the young man's well muscled body and tried to steer the conversation back to safe ground. "Well that rules out your necklace for now…what about Megan, does she have one?"

Harry sat up. "I forgot to ask, I can't remember her wearing a crystal one."

"Well finding out's probably you're best coarse of action. Now I think you'd better be going, it's very late." Severus concluded magicing away their teacups and the plate of sandwiches. "By the way, there's an Order meeting tomorrow at 8pm at Headquarters and you didn't hear it from me."

Harry grinned and turned to leave when Severus called out; "And that'll be a detention Monday evening for stealing from my private stores. Seven pm don't be late."

Harry groaned and Severus…Chuckled!

"You collapsed again! That's the second time you've had a vision while doing Occulemency with Snape." Hermione observed, spreading butter over her toast.

"Maybe he just likes spending time with him…" Jay grinned innocently. Harry hit him. Hard.

"Ewww! Jay! That is so wrong!" Ron cringed. Harry flushed.

"Okay, so he's never going to compare up to my personal sex slave, but he's not THAT bad…" Jay replied.

"Not THAT bad!" Ron choked on his fried bacon; it was Harry's turn to cringe this time. "He's the cruellest, greasiest, slimiest, murderous git!"

"He is a REFORMED Death Eater Ron and we don't know that he actually killed anyone." Hermione reproached him.

"And his hair's probably only greasy from all that potion making." Harry defended.

"Well, I guess it hasn't looked so greasy recently," Ron replied reasonably, then sniggered, "I bet Dumbledore bought him shampoo or something for his birthday! Or better yet, he's got himself a girlfriend!"

Now Ron was laughing out right and not even Hermione could contain her grin. While Harry was concerned about his friend's behaviour, he knew there was nothing he could do about it, and besides if it weren't for the fact he liked Severus (he couldn't deny it now), well he would be laughing right along with them. "That reminds, there's an Order Meeting tonight at 8pm. We're going."

"How do you know?" Hermione asked.

"I've got my sources." Harry replied, indifferently.

Ron pulled Neville, Ginny and Luna over from the other end of the Gryffindor table to talk to them. "There's an Order Meeting tonight at eight, we're going to gate-crash."

"Gate crash?" Neville asked confused.

"They've deliberately been keeping us out of it. We're Order members, we've done more than most of them have, we deserve to know what's going on." Harry decided. They had let the other three in on their own investigations so far, Luna had in fact been the most helpful with suggestions as to where the other necklaces were, she seemed to know a lot about other cultures and countries.

"Okay, I'm in." Ginny replied. Luna just nodded.

"Okay, me too." Neville asked him. "Are you going to confront him about you're necklace?"

"Actually I've had an idea about that," Hermione butted in. All six turned to look at her. "Well, if it is rightfully yours and you and the necklace are as powerful as we suspect, then you should be able to summon it."

"Summon it? Through a big oak door and stone gargoyle?" Ron shook his head.

"Not like 'accio', more like…apparition." Hermione explained.

"But you can't…"

"Apparate within Hogwarts grounds, I know. But that's only aimed at Wizarding magic, if somehow Harry could do it using natural magic, that might work." Hermione replied patiently. But Jacob was shaking his head.

"No, I don't think that can be done." He said a thoughtful expression on his face. "You'd have to take it apart atom by atom and then reconstruct it, while keeping its magic in-tacked, that would take up way too much energy and power, not even Harry could do that I don't think." Hermione looked disheartened, she was not used to her plans failing.

"Wait, what if two people summoned it?" Harry asked excited at the prospect of getting his family heirloom back.

"No," Hermione shook her head dejectedly, "It's probably keyed not to respond to any magic other than the descendants. Otherwise Professor Dumbledore probably would have found a way of using it."

"Then use two descendants." Luna put in, writing something onto the sole of her shoe.

"Wait…that might actually work, if you and Megan were to do it!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Okay, I have Quidditch practice in ten minutes, then me and Jay are preparing for the hallowe'en festival. We'll do it this afternoon, before we go to the Order Meeting." Harry concluded.

"Oh, Dumbledore is going to hate you if you turn up with it round your neck!" Ron exclaimed.

"That's the whole point." Harry grinned.

"Um guys? Can anyone come to these Order meetings?" Jay asked suddenly, they all looked at him uncertainly.

"Well, I heard Mr. Petasus is coming to represent the Oldmoore Gypsies, if we talked to him and got him on board, then I'm sure Dumbledore couldn't say no to him. Not if he wants the Gypsies to fight in the war for the light side." Ginny replied logically.

Well then, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Jay – that's you're mission while we're at Quidditch practice." Harry settled it.

"Okay see you guys later!" The four left and Harry, Ron and Ginny grabbed a few last slices of toast before rushing off for the Quidditch Pitch.

It was not long after breakfast on Saturday morning and Snape was watching the Gryffindor team practicing their moves over the Quidditch pitch. In particular a long black-hair Quidditch captain, when the there was a knock at the staffroom door. Professor Sprout opened it, cup of tea in her hand.

"Hello, Professor Sprout, sorry to disturb you, but is Professor Petasus there?" The granger girl asked, probably something about homework – wait Longbottom, the Ferox boy and that Loony girl were with her – he lent forward over the coach to listen in to what they were saying.

"It's Mr. Petasus, Miss Granger, I am not a wizard." He reminded, but smiled warmly, "What can I do for you?"

"Right sorry, I was wondering if we could have a private word with you?" Granger asked in that annoyingly polite voice.

"Of course, perhaps we should go to my office?" He suggested calmly and grabbed his walking cane. Damn it! I'm going to loose them! 'So follow them.' That would be eavesdropping. 'So, you already know they're probably up to no good.'

Severus followed them discreetly as they trekked over to Mr. Petasus' office, talking about mundane issue such as homework and the latest development into the properties of theastral blood. Finally when they entered his office, he waited round the corner then crept up to the door, much to his pleasure, there was no anti-eavesdropping spell on the door.

"Now then. What can I help you three with?"

"We know you know about the Order."

"Indeed I do. But I'd like to know how you three learnt about it."

"We're Order members; me, Luna, Neville, Harry, Ron and Ginny are. We have been for two years and have known about it for several more." That sounded like Granger.

"Well then, I'm surprised you missed the recent Order meetings, they were quite important." Mr. Petasus seemed surprised.

"We've been busy." Granger dismissed, "Getting settled into school and homework."

"Naturally." He replied, although did not sound convinced.

"We understand that you were invited to represent the Oldmoore Gypsy group within the Order." A boy's voice said, it sounded like Longbottom, only stronger, without his normal stuttering fear.

"Yes, that's right."

"Well, we thought that since the gypsies are such a large group and there are several families who wish to be represented and who like to do their bit for the war, you could recommend Jay and bring him along tonight."

"You would like to be included Jacob?" He sounded surprised.

"Of course! After what those murderers have done to so many of our group not to mention those left behind, poor Megan…and Grandma Thyme's in a bad way too. I feel its only right to stand up for them and put myself forward. We need to show the wizarding community that we can be trusted and can fight with them." Jacob explained seriously.

"I see. Do you understand this could be very dangerous for you?" Mr. Petasus questioned concerned.

"Yes, I understand and I'm prepared for that. I really want to do this." Replied Jacob firmly.

"Okay, have you spoken to Professor Dumbledore? He is the leader of the Order of the Phoenix." He asked logically.

"No, I don't believe he trusts me, or at least he thinks less of me because of my age. He doesn't seem to view me as his equal, more his inferior. I believe he would turn me down with little thought were I to ask him directly." Jacob explained.

"I believe that is a Wizarding fault Jacob and cannot be rectified easily. The elders in their community treat the younger as inferior and do not accept young adults as their equals until they are much over twenty and because of this the young witches and wizards do not give the elders the respect they deserve. Even the Headmaster I believe falls victim to this way of thinking." Mr. Petasus replied thoughtfully.

"You see us as your equals?" Granger asked surprised.

"Of course, Miss Granger, I see you as my equal, if not my superior." He explained. "You have done much greater things in your lifetime than I will ever do in mine and you have a very admirable brain. I see you all as my equals for we do not see age as a means of inequality; we are all equal until we prove otherwise."

"So you decide by how talented and clever people are?" Neville asked miserably.

"Not at all, it is on what you do with the strengths you have and how well you chose to live you're life." He concluded.

"So you will speak with Dumbledore and persuade him to let me come to the meeting tonight." Jay asked excitedly.

"Professor Dumbledore, Jacob, and of course I will. You may meet me here at 7.50pm tonight and floo with me to the meeting tonight." He got up and opened the door, "Now out you all go and get some fresh air, I'll see you all tonight."

Snape snuck away to contemplate what he'd heard… what were they planning? A surprise, that much was certain. But what? Either way, he was sure he would find out this evening.

The four were waiting for Harry, Ron and Ginny as they emerged from the Quidditch changing rooms after practice. They were all grinning cheek to cheek.

"It went well then?" Ron asked.

"Yup, we got him on the case. He swallowed it hook, line and sinker!" Neville beamed.

"What did you say?" Asked Ginny, hugging her boyfriend affectionately.

"Did the whole inequality speech about how Dumbledore wouldn't take me seriously because he's an old fart who's up himself and wanting to do my bit." Jay laughed.

"Turns out he's really into equal rights and not treating the younger generation as inferior." Hermione smiled.

"Well he is very liberal…" Luna put in all dreamy eyed.

"Huh?"

"Anyway… he said he'd convince Dumbledore to let me come tonight, so I can see his face when you get one over on him!" Jay grabbed Harry round the waist and swung him around.

"Hey! Get off! PUT ME DOWN!" Harry batted at him, while the rest were choking with laughter.

"I thought you liked flying," Jay said mournfully and grinned when Harry whacked him. Harry and Jacob departed for the camp, promising to meet up with the others in the room of requirement at two.

There was only a week to go until Halloween and since it was the biggest festival of the pagan year, there were plenty of preparations to be doing. Garlands, flags and costumes were being made, the horses were being trained and the dancers practicing to put on the biggest festival of their memories. The festival was to be held in the grounds. During the day there was to be live entertainment and competitions and stalls for the students to look at, as the sunset there was to be a ceremony and then the Halloween feast in the great hall, which the gypsies would also attend.

First Harry would be performing in the horse-dancing display, which included dressage riding in time to music while performing a magic display. Then he'd go on to perform in the tricks display (Making Taz do tricks from the ground such as jumping in the air), he would then have a break for lunch and before competing in the great race. This was undertaken by all the gypsies (except for those to old to manage it), even the young children rode on small ponies or with sisters and brothers. It was a long course of relatively small jumps that wove across the ground round the edge of the lake and threw the edge of the forbidden forest. It was a free for all, with no real rules except for sticking to the coarse and was renowned for being very chaotic and a lot of fun.

At present Harry was practicing his horse-dancing routine to some muggle music Jay had picked out; 'The way you move' by Outkast. It defiantly wasn't the traditional music, but the rap-like music was lively with a strong beat and worked well with Taz's moves. After his practice was over he went to help Megan with her pony Penny, whose leg had healed up some time ago. He held Penny on a long white rope, making her canter round him in a slow circle while Megan practiced her vaulting on her back. She was nearly as good as Jay, Harry laughed as Meg stuck her tongue out at him from an upside down position.

Finally he Jay and Meg finished up and enjoyed leisurely lunch on the steps of their wagon, before heading to the castle for a quick meeting with Cassandra.

"Hello my dears how are you?" Came a weak voice as they entered the hospital wing.

"Grandma!" Meg ran over to the bed to give a big hug.

"We had something we wanted to ask you about." Harry began but was cut off.

"Megan's necklace?" He nodded, "I wondered when you'd be back." She motioned to a bag on the bed stand next to her. Harry passed it to her and joined the other two sitting on the edge of her bed while she went through it. Finally she pulled out a small square bundle of tissue paper and handed it to Megan. "Happy birthday Megan, I'm sorry its late, dear, old brain like mine, I had difficulty remembering where I put it."

Meg squealed as she ripped off the paper to expose perfectly clear crystal raindrop hanging from a very old, but beautifully delicate chain. Harry could feel the magic extending out of it, but not only from the necklace, Megan now radiated power too. It was as if the necklace was calling to her and her magic was calling back. "Here," Harry said taking in from her and undoing the chain, then placing it delicately around her neck. "Now don't take it off, you don't want to loose it do you?" he smiled at her as she solemnly shook her head.

"What's it made of?" Jacob asked, entranced by the relatively plain, yet most undoubtedly beautiful object.

"Clear Quartz, I believe." Grandma Thyme replied smiling proudly at her excited granddaughter. "Do you know what this means, Meg?" Meg shook her head, no. "It means you're a very special person and you will do very special things. One day, my dear, not too long from now, you will be one of the greatest people in our world and there will be many people who will need your help."

Megan looked at he earnestly, "All by myself?" She asked, fearfully.

Grandma Thyme, shook her head by smiled, "No, my dear, there will always be people there for you. We wouldn't ask a child to save the world all by themselves!"

Harry smiled at the irony of that, the wizarding world had done it before. But Grandma Thyme was right, this time there would be more than one special person and suddenly Harry felt a great weight ease a little; he didn't feel that the whole of the wizarding worlds future depended on him, just most of it. But still, even that was a little less. He smiled.

"Besides, there are other special people too!" Jay laughed at Megan, voicing Harry's voice. "Harry's a special person."

"Really? What about you and Grandma?" Megan asked slightly happier.

"Na, we're just mere mortals!" He laughed.

Meg laughed with him, then stopped and asked Harry; "Do you have a necklace too?"

"Yes, but mines been taken and I need your help to get it back." Harry told her co-spiritually.

Megan puffed herself up proudly, "I'll do anything!" Harry grinned: time to get one back on Dumbledore.

"Right now, I think it's best if you both look at Megan's necklace and try and memorise what it looks like, try not to think of the colour of the crystal since it won't be that colour and we don't know what colour it will be." Megan held the necklace out in front of her so she and Harry could take a good long look at it. They were in the room of requirement, sitting in a circle on beanbags. Joining Harry, Megan and Hermione was Ron, Neville, Ginny, Luna and Jay and surprising the twins, who had pounced on them in the corridor, apparently to tell them there was an order meeting tonight and to put a business proposition forward to Professor Sprout (she was the only person with a decent sized crop of Herringpods in the country, an ingredient they needed for their latest product.)

In truth, Harry was starting to get slightly concerned; the group of people who now knew about mage descendants numbered ten, twelve if you included Cassandra and Severus. He was nervous about what a leak could mean. The wizarding world was already overly nervous of natural magic in the gypsy community, if they learnt of the descendants of a powerful mage with magic a hundred times their own… the wizarding world could be cruel. Harry knew that from experience. It was something he would just have to live with for now, but he'd mention it to Hermione; see if there was a way to ensure secrecy. I wasn't that he didn't trust any of his friends; they had proved their worth ten fold, but it would be very easy for any of them to make a slip up.

"Okay, now hold hands." Hermione instructed. Harry and Meg sat in the centre of the circle face to face. They reached out and held hands, Megan looked at him nervously, and he smiled and squeezed her hands reassuringly. "Now close you're eyes and picture the necklace and imagine it to be Harry's. Got a good picture?" They both nodded, looks of intense concentration across their faces. "When you're ready Harry reached out with your magic and try to feel or sense it, try and let you're magic guide you to it. Megan I want you to take all that magic and energy in you and slowly let some of it flow into Harry to help him search, okay?" Again nods.

Several minutes passed in silence as Harry let tendrils of invisible magic seep out of him and spread, searching with his mind as well. Slowly he began to feel Megan's magic flowing into his hands and threw his veins to curse round his body. Still nothing. "Anything?" Ron asked impatiently.

"No, nothing…" Harry let threw his and Megan's magic out further and sighed as he hit a blank wall. The suddenly, he felt a pull, it quickly became a wrenching tug as a powerful, but friendly magic source pulled him inwards. "Wait I think I've got it…" The group leaned forward in anticipation.

"Try and grasp its shape and feel, then…dissolve it." Hermione tried to explain, unsure. "But you must keep its picture in you're mind and make sure you grasp hold of the magic and don't let go or it'll dissipate!"

Harry nodded and concentrated hard. This was the curtail stage, if he dissolved the necklace and let the magic go or couldn't remember what it felt and looked like he wouldn't be able to reassemble it. Slowly he reached out for its magic core and once he felt he had it he let it flow into him and held onto it tight. Next he felt the object; it's shape, it's texture, its sound. Once he had a very clear picture in his mind he began to pull the object apart gently bit by bit. What seemed like hours later, he let the last piece dissipate. Then brought his magic inwards again and brought his focus back to the present. He concentrated hard on a space in the air in front of him where he planned to reassemble the necklace. He transferred his picture onto it, still with his eyes closed and began to draw atoms to it as he recreated it piece by piece. The process was painstakingly slow and was draining him of energy and Megan was beginning to loose concentration. She was doing extremely well considering she had only just turned six, if fact Harry was surprised she had lasted this long.

Finally he felt he had the last atom in place and the necklace felt right. Megan was beginning to loose concentration rapidly now and her magic supply was cutting off, something Harry really needed for this last part. He delved into his magic quickly and carefully drew out the necklace's magic that had been safely stored away and began to transfer it back as quickly as possible. It seamed ten times as hard as it had been to draw it out, but Harry suspected it was probably due to the lack of energy he now had and the lack of Magic, since Megan's magic was now almost completely cut off and he could only draw magic from his surrounds so fast while trying not to loose his concentration. Just as his energy was failing and he felt he could do no more, the last of the magic slipped in and he let at a sigh of relief.

Slowly he opened his eyes and gasped in surprise. Hanging in the air in front of him was a beautiful and ancient necklace with a finely carved and heavy silver chain with flawless green stone hanging from it, the exact colour of his eyes. "Emerald," he breathed remembering what Divino had told him; Laura's necklace had been emerald. He had at last found 'Laura', in a weird way, or at least he had found her descendant line and he was Laura's youngest descendant.

"Wow…it's beautiful." Ginny murmured.

Harry held at his hand hesitantly and smiled as the necklace fell into his hand and he felt a sudden whirl of power spread through him as though he'd just swallowed some kind of drug. It felt good.

Hermione held her hand out for it and Harry reluctantly relinquished it. She held it up in front of him, "It matches you're eyes perfectly Harry, its so bright." Harry blushed.

"At least we know who Lauretta's descendant is now." Jay said, voicing Harry's earlier thoughts.

"Yes, that's yet another piece of useful information we can add to the list." Hermione nodded thoughtfully, then helped Harry hang it around his neck, "I suggest you tuck it into you're school robes for now and when Dumbledore asks you where you go it tonight, because he will, just say that you saw you're mum wearing it in your photo album and wished you had it…"

"He's not going to believe it just 'appeared' in Harry's hand!" Ron scoffed.

"Of course he will; Harry doesn't do 'normal' things, its perfectly believable." Fred grinned. Harry huffed, but had to admit he had a fair point, it would just add to his already growing list of unbelievable stunts.

"Okay, here's the plan, Jay, you go to meet Mr. Petasus at 7.50 and floo with him to the meeting and let Dumbledore get used to that idea. Fred and George you should arrive before us so that Dumbledore doesn't have any excuse to suppose you've been helping us. The meeting starts at eight, but it always starts a little late and of course we want to make a dramatic entrance, just to be annoying. So we'll get there for 8.10pm. Okay, all sound good?" Harry asked; there was a general consensus.

"Hang on," Ron stopped, "Are we just going to walk in there as if nothing happened? No confrontation about the order meetings or the necklace?"

Harry grinned, "Yep, that's exactly what we're going to do…we're going act as though we haven't a care in the world. Trust me…it'll annoy Dumbledore far more…"

"And," Hermione added. "If we don't mention anything, he'll have no way of bringing up the issue of not letting us into order meeting, since we won't have done anything wrong."

"And he can't accuse Harry of stealing his necklace, since it was Harry's in the first place and he'd have to admit to not telling Harry about it for seventeen years. I mean there's only so long he can keep up the 'you were too young to know about it' excuse," Fred and George agreed, obviously they too had been on the receiving end of that line before.

"Okay we have a couple of hours, lets go and get something to eat and then Jay will go his way and the rest of us will use the fireplace in this room."

Severus grabbed him cloaked and pulled it on, drowning himself in yet another layer of black clothe and surveyed him self in the mirror. His hair had grown a bit recently, it fell jus below his shoulder, which he found more convenient since h could now clip it back at the nape when potion-making. He found it helped prevent his hair from getting quite as greasy, his hair was in fact silky clean today; he had just washed it using a potion grease busting shampoo. The shop assistant, an ex-student of his had fort hard to keep back a grin, he lost miserably in the end and Severus had sneered at him and stormed out. He let his hair hang lose, it looked at lot better he thought pleased that he for once, looked respectable.

Severus took a hand full of floo powder and stepped into the fire throwing down the powder shouted; "12 Grimmauld Place".

Stepping neatly out of the kitchen fireplace and dusting himself down, he hung his cloak on the endless cloak stand and lent against the far wall, watching people arriving and meeting other members. Molly Weasley was levitating plates piled high with food on the table; Arthur Weasley was conversing with Tonks and Shaklebolt; Hagrid was exchanging unusual substances with the Weasley twins; Dumbledore was offering Arabella Figg lemon drops; Moody was talking animatedly to Charlie Weasley and Bill Weasley with his wife Fleur, were sitting with McGonagall. Others were scattered about the place exchanging gossip, offing help and generally being sociable, Severus Sneered.

"Severus." He turned his head to look at his disturber, Remus lent against the wall next to him. "Dumbledore told me the new Defence against the Dark Arts Professor will joining the order tonight…"

"He is not a Professor." Snape replied evenly.

Remus laughed, "Now Severus, I'm sure you not still begrudged that you didn't get the job, after all you are superb at Potion's, why would you want to take the DA job?"

"His incompetence was not what I was referring to." Severus snapped aggravated.

"Really? Is he any good then?" Remus asked amused.

"He is lacking in many areas, but overall he doesn't seem as incompetent as the rest of the Defence teachers for the last decade." Severus replied coolly.

Remus smiled, "I guess that's as good a compliment as a DA teacher is going to get at Hogwarts, although it would have been hard to better Professor Cardiné's teaching ability" Remus chucked at the memory of last year's nutcase and Severus rolled his eyes, that year had been a disaster.

"Since Mr. Petasus is not a wizard, he cannot be referred to as a professor." Severus informed the werewolf.

"Ah, I see. Not a vampire is he?" He teased, everyone knew of the rumours involving vampires and Snape.

Severus didn't bother to dignify that question with an answer, "He is a Gypsy."

"AH! Welcome, Welcome!" Albus Dumbledore boomed across the room as two a figure stumbled out of the floo, shortly followed by another, Severus observed that the headmaster seemed to falter at this, but re-schooled his face quickly and strode over to the pair.

"Oliver! Good to see you came, and young Mr. Ferox too!" Dumbledore smiled, eyes twinkling.

"Thank you for inviting us, Albus. Jacob was extremely pleased when he heard you had agreed to allow a second Oldmoore represent our people." He smiled calmly, his dark blue eyes matching Dumbledore's twinkling ones all the way. Finally Dumbledore looked away and gesturing to the group around.

"This is the Order of the Phoenix, you may recognise some of the teaching staff, and we have witches and wizards from all walks of life. You are welcome to ask questions during the meeting and if you and Mr. Ferox believe joining the Order would be beneficial to your people then I will happily invite you back again and make it a permanent arrangement." Albus offered accepting the situation.

"That sounds marvellous, Albus." Oliver replied warmly.

"Right then let's get to business, would everyone like to take a seat?" Albus called as he sat down on a sofa and the others followed his lead. "First I think a few introductions…joining us today we have Mr. Oliver Woden Petasus, who is currently our Defence teacher and Mr. Jacob Susuro Ferox, one of our seventh year students, they are both part of the Oldmoore group of Gypsies staying at Hogwarts for the time being." Albus paused, then continued, "I won't introduce you to everyone since we are limited for time, but any red heads you may see are the Weasley family who have students who attend Hogwarts and Mr. Weasley works at the Ministry along side Tonks, Moody, Shaklebolt, Hestia Jones and Sturgis Pudmore…" Pleasantries were exchanged. "Arabella Figg, who is Squib, is our Harry-monitor, she lives only a few doors away from Mr. Potter and finally Remus Lupin, who is one of our ex-defence teachers, we do seem to get a through a lot."

Soon the meeting had begun and reports we being given out by the ministry employees about the movements of certain dark creatures and possible Voldemort plots that were being looked at. Suddenly the fire turned green and figure stepped out, followed by another, and another, then three more. The room was in complete silence and Moody and several others had their wands out. The group however seemed unconcerned as they helped each other brush off and get their bearings.

Severus had to work hard not to smirk when Potter strode over to the cloak stand, hung up his cloak and then plonked himself down on the sofa between himself and Remus, only then looking up at Albus, "Sorry we're late." Harry apologised, seemingly oblivious to the looks he was getting from those who had known Dumbledore's intentions. The others joined him sitting and Remus gave Harry a reassuring smile.

"Not at all, "Albus replied lightly after a long pause, Severus however noticed he was looking not at Harry's face but is chest, looking down he noticed the ancient pendant hanging for Harry's neck. It was quite beautiful, matching Harry's eyes perfectly. So Harry had somehow got the necklace from Dumbledore without his knowing, interesting…

"Where did you get that enchanting pendant my dear boy?" He asked Blue eyes drilling into Harry, Harry looked away at Jacob, to avoid eye contact, clever man, thought Severus, he had learnt well after all. But how was Harry going to explain this…

"I was looking at my photo album and I noticed Lily was wearing it, I was just wishing I had it and suddenly there it was in my hand. I was quite shocked really. It feels good to know I have a belonging from each parent, the cloak from dad and the pendant from mum…" He trailed off quietly. Hmm…he was definitely getting smoother, Severus thought, he'd have to watch out. Although, Harry did look genuinely sad…Remus gave Harry's arm a squeeze reassuringly and Harry smiled. Severus wished it could have been him comforting Harry…but ruthlessly squashed that thought as quickly as it formed.

**Chapter 24…Very Liberal. We see more of Remus during the final preparations for Halloween and Harry's Court case, which looms ever nearer and maybe a little more of Mr. Petasus too? Any guesses as to what I have intended for Mr. Petasus, person who gets it right might get something dedicated to them…or possibly first pick on plot decisions… **

**Many thanks to…**

**Kyaku-kun – again, Thanks for sticking with me!**

**Lady Foxy Roxy – all in good time, trust me there will be lots of smuttiness later…**

**hittocerebattosai – Sorry it was so long since I updated!**

**TonksFan693 – I will, never fear!**

**Lady Lily3 – still with me than? Thanks so much!**

**CERIS –Hehehe, just you wait…**

**Sakura-Inc – thanks for the love!**

**lady sakura cosmos – Thanks, come again!**

**And a Huge Special thanks goes to Korogi-chan who is now bet'aing for me! YAY! THANKS SO MUCH! Please throw cookies their way!**


	24. Very Liberal

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**AN: This Chapter is dedicated to ****TheWingedWhispered****, who was the only to guess person to correctly guess the answer to "What do I intend to do involving Mr. Petasus?" Well done and enjoy this chappy!**

**Chapter 23**

**Very Liberal**

Harry was staring into space as he stirred on autopilot; Dumbledore had yet to confront him about the necklace, he was even beginning to hope that Dumbledore had given up on the idea completely. Harry had noticed a significant increase in his power since wearing it; he didn't feel like it was lending him magic, more that it was heightening his own abilities and senses. He could hear the drip drop of potion from Dean's ladle hit the cauldron as he lifted it out, the gentle ripple of Hermione's robes as she sifted a powder, the beating of the wings of a fly to his left. When he felt something speeding through the air towards him, Harry flung out a hand banishing the object in no time. The room had gone silent. Every single person was staring at him. Blaize Zabini's hand was frozen in the air as though he had just thrown something; he looked astonished. "My God, how did you do that!" A bust of noise began as whispers filled the classroom. "Detention, Potter, for using unauthorised wandless magic during a class!" There were several gasps from both Gryffindor and Slytherin. Even Malfoy was frowning slightly, although his friends were sniggering, his mask quickly changed to indifference. Hermione looked shocked and Harry glared up at the sneering Potions Master. "And ten points from Slytherin…" Snape hissed, the Slytherins looked angry, about to protest; lately Snape had been harsher on them, but he'd never taken points before. However, he continued; "…for NOT managing to blow up Potter's potion, Zabini!" 

At this several of the Slytherin's grinned and smirked, while more gasps and comments of unfairness came from the Gryffindors. Harry himself had to shut his gapping mouth; Severus had been almost nice recently. He had at least been a lot fairer to the Gryffindors, only taking points when deserved and not letting the Slytherin's get away with quite as much as they used to. Harry scowled at Snape, who was smirking. "Seven O'clock tonight Potter, don't be late!" he snapped before whipping around and striding back to his desk.

Harry glared at his almost ruined potion, adding an extra ingredient in hope of salvaging it. His hand shock slightly, it was so unfair! Zabini would have ruined his potion had he managed to through the ingredient without Harry noticing. It was self-defence! Although…he had taken points from Slytherin, even if it was as a punishment for missing a chance to show him up.

Hermione nudged him and he turned down the flame under his cauldron. "Don't look so down Harry, you said you were meeting with Snape tonight at seven anyway, remember? He was probably just taking the opportunity to give a reason for your meeting, so it's less suspicious." She hissed.

Harry's eyes went wide, of course! So maybe Snape didn't hate him so much after all? Hate you? Hello! Haven't you noticed the way he's been eyeing you up in private? Harry blushed, then frowned. What Snape said to Zabini was harsh, he needn't have done that, so why did he? hmmpf

The Potions lesson came to an end and Harry left his head filled with questions and a frown on his face. He was annoyed at Severus, or rather annoyed at himself for not understanding Severus' thinking. Eventually lunchtime came and Harry sighed as he sat down to eat with his friends, he had mostly gotten used to his heightened senses by now, but the sounds of so many sets of cutlery scrapping together was giving him a migraine. He glanced up at the head table, Severus wasn't there, but to his surprise Remus was and when he spotted Harry he smiled at him before returning to his conversation with Mr. Petasus. Deciding he needed some time to chill out, he left the Great Hall and headed to the camp calling to Taz.

"Hey boy," The horse nuzzled him affectionately, Harry smiled, "Love you too."

The horse tossed his head and whickered gently, Harry rubbed his neck, "No I'm not riding you now, how about we go for a walk, huh?" The horsed his head again in response and as Harry headed to the lake, Taz followed him, unleashed by his side. As Taz drank from the edge of the lake Harry skimmed a stone across the surface. He was thinking of the past seven years and the fight that loomed ever closer, he had been thinking about it a lot recently. He knew he'd have to face Voldemort soon, he had no choice, he didn't know weather he would live or die, but that didn't disturb him as much as it used to. He had lived so much in the last seven years, had seen things, both good and bad, that other would never see. But what if he did live threw this? Everything would change, not just loosing such a great threat, but he would be leaving Hogwarts, his home. The only place he had ever called home. He threw the next stone hard at the water causing Taz to look up at him with sad eyes. The truth was, he didn't know what was going to happen to him, he didn't know what to do and he felt scarred. Scarred of being alone again. He took a deep breath realising he had been leaking tendrils of coloured magic across the lakes surface. It was a beautiful sight, the deep purple, blue and green mixed gently like a mist and swayed in a slow, sad pattern as though conveying his inner emotions.

Albus watched as though hypnotised by the swirling magic, as he watched the slow magical dance he was washed with emotions he was sure were not his own. A great sorrow, grief, fear, loneliness, pain, anger and then slowly, a calm, acceptance of an unchangeable fate. Harry. He had had to deal with so much, so much was expected of him and he tried so hard not to let the wizarding world down. He never let out his emotions, even to his friends; this seemed so personal Albus felt he shouldn't be watching. He regretted what he had had to put the man threw, what he still had to do. He had no idea whether Harry would live or die and that scarred him; Albus was rarely scarred, but not knowing, not being able to help with Harry's own fears; that scarred him. He knew how Harry must feel about him, knew Harry blamed him for many things and many of them were his fault. But he knew that had he had the choice or knowledge of the outcomes of his actions, he would not have changed the sacrifices he had made. He knew Harry may never forgive him, but he hoped that at least Harry would live to make that choice.

Albus sighed and looked away as Harry drew the magical energy back into him, he was powerful, very powerful, but he would need much more power, much more than just magic to win this war. Harry would need strength of the mind and emotion, something Albus knew had been leaving him bit by bit over the years, from all the pain, all the suffering he had seen. He hoped Harry would make it and make it in one piece. Albus' eyes landed on the empty cabinet next to him, where the necklace had was lain. He knew Harry was not telling the truth about how he had gotten it, but he had noticed Harry's senses and abilities had heightened. If nothing else, he hoped this would in someway help him. He had been very surprised when Harry had shown the ability to do elemental magic, it meant he must be related to the Gypsies in some way, although he did not know how, he had checked his records thoroughly. If he was very much mistaken this necklace had something to do with it, he was hoping he would share the information with Remus from whom he knew it would not be too difficult to pry it from, since Harry was being less than forth coming.

Sighing again, Albus shock his head and returned to his desk seat to set to work on paperwork; all in good time, he thought, all in good time.

Harry walked towards the dungeons to meet Severus, he had yet to meet anyone as tea was still being served, so when Harry passed an empty classroom and spotted movement in the corner of his eyes he instinctively he threw out his magic and the moving object froze. Harry turned towards the classroom to see Remus and Mr. Petasus frozen, Harry groaned as he realised how much trouble he was about to be in. Then he gaped when the picture in front of him registered, Remus had his left hand resting on the mans lower regions and it didn't look like a mistake front the look on both their faces, that and Petasus was leaning heavily on the desk behind him, both hands gripping the edge for support. Oh, shit. Not again! That was the second time he had walked in on Remus in a compromising position, the first time had been at Grimmauld place, he had been in bed with Sirius, having wild sex. Fortunately Harry had managed not to be seen and had gotten over the experience pretty quickly, it was really what had clinched his sexual orientation; it had looked VERY hot.

Unfortunately, Harry now had a dilemma; he could either run very fast in the opposite direction and hope the magic wore off before someone else found them in their compromising position, or he could unfreeze them and have to admit to seeing his dad's friend feeling up his Defence teacher. Great…just great! Worst of all Harry was starting to feel a tingle in his own lower region when his mind had strayed to think of himself and Severus in that position. Damn it! There was nothing for it he would have to unfreeze them, he couldn't leave them and they'd know someone had seen them so he couldn't hide. Shit. His cheeks flushed red. Okay, if he were going to face the dark lord and kill him, he would manage this. At least he thought, Remus was a good friend, a father figure and he could at least tease him about it.

Taking a deep breath, he unfroze them. In a split second the two had leapt apart and looking straight at him. The two men were turning very red, especially Remus, although to their credit neither of them looked too flustered. "Ah, Harry." Remus managed to get out.

Harry smirked. "Not very good at closing doors are you Remus, that's the second time I've walked in on you doing inappropriate things to a man." He grinned, as Remus turned, if possible, redder.

"Ah," he said again.

Harry rolled his eyes deciding to give him a break. "It's alright Remus it was years ago and I wasn't mentally scarred for long."

"You're okay, that I'm dating a man?" He asked tentatively.

Harry grinned at him, "I'd be a hypocrite if I wasn't."

"Oh!" So eloquent, Harry thought.

"Sorry for freezing you, I just saw a movement out of the corner of my eye." Harry explained, getting slightly embarrassed now.

Snapping out of his embarrassment, Mr.Petasus came to the rescue; "That's quite alright Harry, I probably would have done the same. I'm sorry we put you in an uncomfortable situation. Remus has told me that he is extremely fond of you and regards you as family, I just wanted you to know that he has made it very clear that your needs will always come first and I respect that very much."

Harry blushed, but gave a small of acknowledgement as Remus gave him a squeeze. "Thanks, Remus is like a father to me and I wanted you two to know that I'm really happy for you."

Remus beamed, he had obviously been extremely scarred of a negative reaction. Mr. Petasus also looked relieved. He smiled at Harry; "Well then as I'm dating a member of your family, I think it would be better if you were to call me Oliver in private."

"Thank you. I'd better get going I'm supposed to be meeting Severus." Harry said then realised his slip up.

Mr…Oliver, chuckled and asked, "Just how many teachers are you on first name terms with?"

Harry grinned and thought about it…actually it was rather a lot. "Three, four including the matron." Oliver laughed and Harry turned to Remus, "Um…are you going to be along later?" he asked tentatively, suddenly nervous, the trail was just over a weeks time.

Remus gave him another squeeze, "Of course." He said gently. Harry smiled and said goodbye to Oliver before continuing on his route to Snape's private quarters. Harry arrived and the portrait immediately opened for him as the Serpent ward hissed a welcome and he walked in. Severus was sorting threw papers at his desk.

"You're late." He said, Harry felt a slight rise of anger remembering his potion's class earlier that day but quickly squashed it.

"Sorry," Harry muttered sitting down on the sofa, "I spotted Remus…er…on the way here." Snape raised a dark eyebrow at him, looking up from his papers. Harry blushed a deep red. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

Severus studied him closely, looking for an explanation of his embarrassment. Then he smirked, "Walked in on him in a compromising potion too did you…"

Harry gasped in surprise but nodded. "When did you…"

"When he was sixteen, I walked in on him and Black in the room of requirement. It was half the reason Black and your father stopped baiting me so much, they were worried I'd say something and Remus didn't want to be outed." Severus grinned evilly.

Harry smiled contented. "They were together all that time, he must have loved Sirius so much," then his face fell in sorrow, "I can't imagine what it must have been like…losing him for thirteen years of Azkaban then having him back only to loose him again…"

Severus studied the young man closely; he looked so sad, grief. Not for himself, but for a werewolf, a man he had only four years ago, who he had seen little of since. It was then that Severus realised, why Albus thought Harry could win against such a powerful evil, why Harry was the boy-who-lived, and the wizarding world's saviour, why he would save them; he grieved indiscriminately. He grieved for a person no matter how good or evil they were, no matter if they would kill him or cast his statue in gold. This was what it truly meant to be good, to love, to be innocent and to be light. He held empathy, love and innocence on such a level he could not be matched, not by his friends, his teachers, the Weasley's, not even Albus.

Walking over to the sofa where Harry sat lost in thought, he gently sat down and reached out sliding his arms around Harry. Harry lent into him with a sigh absently laying his head on Severus' chest. Severus felt a warm feeling of happiness spread threw his body, this is what he had wanted; to comfort Harry when he needed it and it felt good. It had been a long time since he had been close enough to anyone to comfort them and while there had been no spoken agreement on their relationship, it seemed to change from day to day, it was nice to know that they had something, even if he was just a comforting friend for now. Severus had finally admitted to liking Harry; that the feelings of protectiveness towards him were not just for the salvation of the wizarding world and while deep down he knew it was something more than liking, he refused to let such thoughts enter his mind at present.

Pulling Harry closer he relaxed back into the sofa thinking over the year to come. October 31st was when the large celebration would be held, then on November 5th he and Remus would travel to the ministry for the case against Lockhart, another order meeting was scheduled for the middle of the month and Severus would not be surprised if he were to attend another Death Eater meeting before then. He had been to one last night, the Dark Lord had not been pleased, he had no new information and had heard from several Slytherin students that he was not favouring them as well as he used to, which was why he had be so harsh on Harry today, hoping his actions would reach the Dark Lords ears. He had no doubt he would have been punished, had it not been for the fact that he had been needed to brew a complex potion.

Severus looked down at the mess of black hair against his chest, Harry's breathing had evened out and Severus realised hew was asleep. He looked peaceful and contented and Severus smiled. He rarely smiled any longer, not with having cruel intentions behind it. Severus couldn't resist placing a gentle kiss against Harry's hair; he let out a soft murmur, but didn't wake. Suddenly Severus realised he could feel a tingling, like electricity, but gentler. It felt like it was seeping into him where he was touching Harry. Looking down he could tendrils of white magic slowly leaving Harry and gently caressing his skin, as though Harry wanted to share something with him. By not entering his body, it was as though the magic was asking his permission, slowly as he relaxed, the magic seeped into him feeling him with the sudden feelings of comfort and peace and…love? Harry felt loved?

There was a knock at the door, pulling Severus from his thoughts; the wards let him know that it was Remus at the door. Severus hesitated for a moment, but decided, rules be damned, he didn't want to wake Harry and doubted Remus would complain. "Come in," He called softly. The portrait swung open and Remus walked in, his eyebrows almost hit his hairline when he saw the position they were in, then he smiled at Severus' relaxed posture. "I didn't want to wake him," Severus mutter, Remus tried to hide a smirk. Severus scowled but gestured to the desk, Remus walked over, found the papers he was looking for and returned to the chair next tot the sofa. He read though then quickly and nodded his approval. The letters were the contracts they would sign; Remus to accept position of Wizarding Courtman and present evidence on Harry's behalf, Severus to accept position of Witness and two for Harry, to allow both Remus and Severus to present at Court. They also had a accusing list, to be given as a speech and presented to the judge afterward, it stated all the things Lockhart was accused of and by who. There was also a personal written statement from Harry, which would be used as evidence, and finally as most importantly there was a request letter for an unspeakable Court case, which would be presented to a high judge tomorrow.

Remus signed the correct papers for himself and separated Severus and Harry's. Sighing, Severus gently shook Harry awake, it had been wonderful while it lasted, he thought resignedly. Harry looked up at him blearily, then detangled himself when he realised Remus was there. After having everything explained to him, Harry signed the letters and assured them there were no last minute questions he wanted to ask. Severus summoned over a brief case, he explained it was magically keyed into one person so that it would only open for them and would not be able to be further than two feet away from them at any given time. This they hoped would insure the safety and privacy the case needed. Harry was just thanking them and was about to leave when his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed.

Severus lunged for Harry was he plummeted towards the floor and managed to catch him just in time. He gently scooped Harry up and laid him on the coach, he seemed to be doing this a lot recently, he mused. "It's alright he's done this twice before, it's a vision, it'll pass." Sure enough Harry started to burn up, sweat dripping from him. "Remus, could you grab and towel and wet flannel from the bathroom please?" as Remus left on his search, Severus placed a quick kiss to Harry's forehead. Why did this sort of thing always happen around him? It was just his luck! He took the towel, mopping him dry then placed the cold flannel across his forehead. Remus had also thought to grab the blanket off his bed and he covered him with it. A few minutes later Harry started to fit. Severus and Remus watched on in concern doing all they could to sooth him.

"_**Hello again Harry."**_

"_**Hello Divino."**_

"_**You found her…"**_

"_**Yes. Are you going to join her now?"**_

"_**No, not yet, they said you still need me."**_

"_**Who are they?"**_

"…"

"_**What can you tell me about your sisters and brothers and cousins?"**_

"_**What do you want to know?"**_

"_**Their names? Their necklaces? Where did you all go?"**_

"_**My Sisters are Luna-Atratus and Lauretta and my brother is Apollo. My male cousins are Fulmineus, Corculum, and Calculus and my female cousins are Stillo, Flammula and Penniger."**_

"_**I'm not sure I'll remember all that, you have so many in your family."**_

"_**I'm not sure I remember every necklace colour, but I'll try… I think Luna has a black one and Lauretta's was green and I think Apollo's was yellow.**_

"_**What about the others?"**_

"_**I can't remember."**_

"_**Okay, never mind. How about where you went to, do you know that?"**_

"_**Yes! I went to a very hot place, there was lots of sand and dry grass and everyone was so tanned. My new family were elves!"**_

"_**Wow. You lived with elves?"**_

"_**Yes, I don't remember much else, it's all blurred."**_

"_**It's probably not important then."**_

"_**Laura went somewhere very cold, there was lots of snow!"**_

_**Slowly the misty fog and the voice began to fade, he could no longer hear what Divino was saying…then everything went black.**_

"Harry," he became aware of something cold against his forehead and lying on a coach, Snape's coach…again. This was getting embarrassing.

"Sorry," he mumbled weakly.

"That's okay Harry, how do you feel?" Remus asked kindly.

"A little weak, but okay." He smiled back feebly.

"I'd better go and deliver this letter, I'll leave you in Severus' very capable hands, okay?" Remus smiled back.

"Okay, will I see you again soon?" Harry asked drowsily.

"Not until after Halloween, I'll try and drop by before the 5th, is that okay Harry?" he asked.

Harry nodded, then felt guilty that he had forgotten that Remus could never celebrate Halloween thanks to the full moon. Remus just smiled and gave his arm a squeeze before heading out. Severus was looking at him expectantly and Harry quickly relayed everything he could remember about the vision. "Hmmm. That is interesting. Even though this 'Divino' has already helped you find your history, which was his purpose, he has refused to leave." Severus mused.

Harry nodded, "Yes, it makes me hope that he may be able to give me the information I need to find the others. Do you recognise any of what he said?"

Severus stared into space for a moment then nodded, "Divino, his name…it sounds Latin, in fact…they all do, except perhaps Lauretta; that sounds like a common name."

Harry laughed, "Yea, just like Harry. A nice normal name."

Snape rose and eyebrow, but looked amused. "You are not normal." Harry mock scowled. "The land he described, there could be many possibilities; Africa, Asia, Arabia, even Central America." He sighed, "And the colours of the stones could represent anything."

"It'll set Hermione on it when I get back, the names may be of use. I hope I can remember them all…" Harry replied. Severus handed him another potion to drink and Harry suddenly felt very silly lying on Snape's sofa. He got up and bid Severus good night, heading back to the Gryffindor tower.

"Harry where have you been?" Hermione asked concerned, as he entered the tower.

"We were about to send a search party mate, we thought Snape might have killed you!"

"Ronald!"

"You okay, you look pale, Harry?" Jay asked as Harry sat next to him.

Harry sighed, "I had another vision again, it's starting to get really embarrassing, collapsing around Snape all the time."

"This is the third time…" Hermione agreed, "Maybe you should go and see Pomfrey?"

Harry sock his head, "It's all right 'Mione, I've already had a potion from Snape, I'm okay. I have more information from this vision though…got a quill and some parchment?" Hermione pulled a piece of parchment that all ready had a few lines or so of writing on describing Harry and Megan's necklaces and the North wind theory.

"Okay ready…" Ron had pulled over the other Order members and Hermione had her quill at the ready. Quickly Harry relayed everything he could remember, while the others cut in with questions and prompts eventually they sat in silence as Hermione wrote out a table below her note:

_Harry J. Potter, Emerald necklace, Ancestor- Lauretta _

_Megan Oldmoore, Clear Quartz necklace, Ancestor- ?_

_, Purple necklace, Ancestor- Divino, Hot, Elves_

_, Yellow necklace, Ancestor- Apollo_

_, Black necklace, Ancestor- Luna – Atratus_

_? necklace, Ancestor- Fulmineus_

_? necklace, Ancestor-Corculum_

_? necklace, Ancestor-Calculus_

_? necklace, Ancestor-Stillo_

_? necklace, Ancestor-Flammula_

_? necklace, Ancestor-Penniger_

The table was small, with plenty of gaps; it really didn't seem to help much. Suddenly Hermione turned to Luna, "You're name, it means moon doesn't it?"

Luna nodded slowly, "Yes, it's Latin for moon, my father speaks Latin and he said my eyes looked like big moons so that's what he named me."

Ginny nodded and looked down at the table, "Okay so Atratus, could that mean black? As in black moon or new moon. Since she has a black necklace?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes, so she's named after the necklace she's given."

"Maybe the necklace grants her dark powers?" Ron said, Hermione looked at him sceptically.

"No, Ron could be right," Neville replied, "If each necklace grants a power and each child id named after the necklace colour, it makes sense."

"Sure, but what about Lauretta, that doesn't have a meaning does it?" Jay argued.

"The exception that proves the rule," Luna replied vacantly, braiding a lock of blonde hair.

"Okay fine," Hermione sighed, she raised her wand, "Accio Latin-English Dictionary!"

"I've heard of Apollo," Harry began, "Wasn't he a Greek god."

Hermione nodded as the others lent in, interested. "He was supposedly the Greek god of the sun. he was suggested to exist around two thousand years ago, so the mage descendant 'Apollo', may have been the creation of that particular myth."

"Okay, so it's safe to presume that since he has a yellow necklace and is named a sun god, he might posses light powers?" Harry reasoned, now they were getting somewhere.

"Okay, that's two out of ten, a Dark mage and a Light mage." Jay agreed. At that moment the Gryffindor portrait swung open as a second year came in ducking as a book flew past him and landed next to Hermione.

She flicked it open to the 'D' section, "Divino…meaning; to foretell, Prophesy, forebode." She read. "A mage of Prophesy then."

"Fulmineus?" Ron asked.

Hermione found 'F'; "of lightning; like lightning, rapid or destructive."

"That doesn't sound very nice," Luna muttered.

"Flammula; little flame." Hermione continued ignoring Luna, "so a fire mage."

"Corculum; little heart." Jay read, "Er…Heart Mage? Maybe…emotion?"

"Calculus; little stone or little pebble." Ron read his face contorted, "Who'd want to be called that?"

"Earth Mage," Neville supplied, ignoring Ron's comment and taking the Dictionary from him. "Stillo; to drip drop."

Ron snorted, "The poor kids." There were now only one left on the list:

"Penniger;" Harry read, "feathered, winged."

Closing the book, Harry and the other's watched as Hermione inserted the new information into her table, "You said Megan does a lot of elemental work involving air didn't you, Harry?" At his nod she changed something, then lent back to show the others:

_Harry J. Potter, Emerald necklace, Ancestor- Lauretta?_

_Megan Oldmoore, Clear Quartz necklace, Ancestor-Penniger, Wind_

_, Purple necklace, Ancestor- Divino, (Hot, Elves), Prophesy _

_, Yellow necklace, Ancestor- Apollo, Light_

_, Black necklace, Ancestor- Luna – Atratus, Dark_

_? necklace, Ancestor- Fulmineus, Lightning_

_? necklace, Ancestor-Corculum, Heart_

_? necklace, Ancestor-Calculus, Earth_

_? necklace, Ancestor-Stillo, Water_

_? necklace, Ancestor-Flammula, Fire_

"Well, we know what to expect from Meg then, But we still have no idea what powers Harry has, nor who the other descendants are." Jay observed.

Hermione looked annoyed, "At least we have a bit more information now, I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually. I have a few other things I'm going to look into tomorrow." She rolled up the parchment and cast a sealing charm on it before slipping it into her robes. "And beside, I think finding the descendat might be easier than you think."

Everyone turned to her surprised, she had that smug Know-it-all look on her face. "Spit it out!" Ron moaned.

"Look at what we know about the two descendants we've found so far; Harry is the boy-who-lived and Megan is a powerful descendant of very old Gypsy family. She's only six and already she's doing magic far beyond that which she should be capable of, even without the necklace and Harry, well we all know what he can do." Hermione finished smugly.

"So we just have to look for the ten most powerful people in the world?" Ginny asked confused, Harry blushed at being suggested as one of the top ten in the world.

"It's more than that, they will probably be noticeable since they will probably be able to perform magic they shouldn't be able to or have unusual talents of traits." Hermione explained excited. "I'm going to research it tomorrow, but I have a few people in mind already."

Harry groaned in realisation, "Dumbledore, right?"

Hermione nodded, "Got to be."

**Chapter 25…Halloween Part One. Hehehe…the celebrations begin, lots of horse riding, Harry and Jay showing of, air-skating fun and a surprise from Draco coming up in Halloween Parts One and Two. Will Harry and Severus get a move on or will Jay have to give them a push in the right direction? P.s. Halloween Part One dedicated to the person who can explain the connection between chapter 23 and 24 that gives name to the title and Halloween Part Two goes to the person who can guess what Draco's surprise is and guess wildly…because you never will! Wmahahaha! **

**Special thanks goes out to:**

**Lady Foxy Roxy**

**hittocerebattosai**

**Lady Lily3**

**TheWingedWhispered**

**Enemywithin7**

**lady sakura cosmos**

**Neqs – thanks, I've now got a Beta so hopefully soon my grammar mistakes will be done to a minimum, but there's some back tracking to do…**

**Ghellie **

**TonksFan693**

**Kyaku-kun – sorry, slaps back of hand I'll try and keep them coming!**

**Acey1 grins wmahahahaha**

**AnnF**

**Sakura-Inc – you'll be glad to know I've got some tasty plans for those two and lots of angsty bits as well… not long now before…BRING ON THE SMUT!**


	25. Halloween Part One

**Harry Potter and the Emerald Raindrop**

**AkashaWinters**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter world. JK Rowling owns the Harry Potterverse anyone who doesn't know that should be exiled to Mars, I make exceptions only for poor penniless people in remote corners of third world countries, who cannot read and don't have the money to buy the overly priced one – thousand paged books. I make no money from my poor attempt at fanfiction. A necklace of raindrops was written by Joan Aiken, I do not own any of the rights etc.

**AN: YAY! 100 Reviews! Love you all! Since no-one noticed the link between Chapter 23 and the title of chapter 24 (I'll give you a clue, it was something Luna said…), this Chapter is dedicated to ****Blueyesangel1186 for presenting such a persuasive argument for me to post quickly! Thank you and enjoy!**

**Chapter 25**

**Halloween Part One**

Harry woke early on Saturday morning in the Wagon, glancing over Jay he noticed he was already up and had already left. Throwing on an old pair of Jodhpurs and a shirt he grabbed some toast on his way out. It was 6.30am and already the grounds were alive with movement. Large white canvass tents were being put up and tables levitated into place. A large rectangle was being fenced off as McGonagall transfigured the grass to sand inside it. There was motion everywhere, Jay, Gavin and Megan were washing and grooming their horses, while others were practicing moves. "Hey," Harry said, as Taz gave him a look as if to say 'you're late'. Harry just laughed and magically filled a bucket with water and warming it before throwing it over Taz and giving him a good scrub. The horse whickered in response to having a warm bath.

"Today is going to be great!" Jay grinned looking at the mass of movement around them, plaiting his chestnut horse's tail, it was not the horse that pulled their wagon, that was the huge black and white Vanner horse that stood proudly beside them, its long mane and tail groomed out immaculately. Gavin also had two horses, a brown one and a Vanner horse that pulled his wagon; he explained that he planned to sell the brown horse today, since his horse was getting a little old now and wasn't really up to heavy work. Megan stood grooming her tiny grey pony; Penny, she herself had had a bath and her long blonde hair was drying off still. By 7.30, the horses were groomed and plaited and were let loose for the next hour and a half, until the shows began at 9am.

Harry noticed that the growing crowd now consisted of not only the Hogwarts staff and the Gypsies, but also Wizards from Hogsmeade and magical animal traders from all over. One man had just Port-keyed in with four Hippogriffs and a group of shop attendants from Zonko's joke shop were setting up a stall to his right. Suddenly he spotted two identical red heads, "Greg, Forge!" He yelled jokingly as the two came over to him grinning from ear to ear.

"Harry, our man, nice to see you!" They said thumping him on the back.

"Have you got a stall here?" He asked curious.

"Yea, but we're also here for an act as well…"

"…But it's a secret so we can't tell you what it is."

"And don't you go telling anyone we told you…"

"…Or we might have to go telling everyone that you told on us telling you!"

Harry just laughed; he never could keep up with Fred and George. "Ron'll be pleased to see you." The twins grin evilly… "Or maybe not…" What had those too got planned?

"We heard you're doing a bit of showing off yourself, Harry." Fred said, or maybe it was George?

Harry grinned, "I'm taking part in the Horse-dancing class and the Tricks display." Harry told them, "Are you going to join in for the great race after lunch?"

"We can't ride…"

"…And don't have horses…"

"…But it does sound fun…"

"Jay and Gavin have got two horses, you might be able to borrow and just cast a sticking charm to stop yourself falling off, you can't do any worse than anyone else." Harry smirked…he'd heard rumours about the great race, apparently two years ago some bright spark had decided they should do it late in the evening after all the celebrations and consequently nearly everyone taking part had been completely hammered. Jay's horse had taken him two metres before throwing him off and refusing to allow him back on in his intoxicated state. Whoever said horses weren't smart had obviously never met the ones the Gypsies owned.

Gavin was just leaving for the trading posts to tie up his brown horse for sale when the castle doors and the gates to the grounds opened allowing students out and the public into the fair. "Time to get changed," Jay winked at Harry as they retreated into the wagon. Harry's costume was really quite exposing, he wasn't sure he entirely liked it. He wore tight black jodhpurs and a thin medieval forest green silk shirt that hang open at the front in a V-shape exposing most of his chest, the loose sleeves rippling as he rode along. He also wore heavy black boots that reached his needs and had sliver heels and a ingrained pattern, he had a belt and hat to match, the hat was dipped in the middle and Jay made him wear it lopsided with his long black hair tied back in a silver clasp. Actually Harry thought, studying his appearance, he didn't look half bad. Jay smacked his ass. "Hey!"

"Stop worrying, you're only going to have about most of the school assaulting you in that outfit." Jay teased, Harry blushed; the outfit really did leave little to the imagination. "Ready?" Jay asked. He was wearing a white and sky blue and he looked stunning himself, his outfit wasn't tight and open like Harry's, he wore more traditional wear with a long sweeping cloak. Never the less, he looked stunning. Harry smiled and the exited the wagon with him, fortunately their Wagon was round the back of one of the large tents so they weren't in view. Megan was waiting for them, she wore a white skirt over her leotard and leggings, which she wore for her vaulting sequence later, the white had golden unicorns all over it and her blonde hair was in two plaits; she looked adorable. Harry threw a black clock over his outfit and checked his watch. 9a, exactly, the horse dancing was about to start and Jay had the opening routine.

"You'd better go or you'll be late, don't worry we'll be watching!" Harry smiled as he took Meg's hand and they stepped into the crowd.

There were old-fashioned brass loud speakers floating above the crowd, "Welcome to Hogwarts first open Halloween fair!" The announced, "Today we have a large variety of stalls for you look at and purchase from, many magical creatures to be bartered for and several displays to be given by our resident Gypsies, both dancing and riding. Could I please remind parents to keep young children away from the Hippogriff pens? Later there will be a singing talent show for all Hogwarts students to take part in, it you are a student and wish to take part, please notify the judging box by the stage and be ready to perform by 12 o'clock. There will be a 10 Galleon prize the person who guesses the weight of the theastral, located by the gamekeepers hut. To start off our celebrations today there will be a Horse dancing display, so if you could please make your way over to the ring side we will be underway shortly."

Harry and Meg took up a place next to the ring as the ever-growing crowd filled up around them; Harry kept seeing glimpses of Jay riding back and forward inside the performer's tent at the far end of the ring. Harry was already feeling nervous and there were three more riders before him. Taking off his hat, because it made him feel silly he gave it to Megan and waved across at Ron and Hermione when he spotted the red head.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, magic folk alike…May I present Jacob Ferox and his beautiful mare Sundance." Jacob and Sundance, the chestnut pranced in. Jacob smiled and waved at the crowd as they clapped and rode to the centre to take position. They looked stunning. "Bolero!" The commentator announced and Harry realised that was the name of the song as it began to play and Jay and Sundance moved. They moved perfectly in time with the classical music, Jay had explained that the softer the music and the more complex the beat, the harder it was to keep in time, or rather the easier it was to notice when you were out of time. Jay was doing remarkably, it was defiantly some of the best riding Harry had seen; such great control. He looked around at the crowd; they was a huge turnout people had come from all over, not all wizards either, it was a great feeling.

As the music finished and Jay received his applause Harry made his way over to Taz, saddling him up and checking him over. The tack matched his boots, belt and hat and he was sure they would look very good together. As he and Meg walked over to the tent, he almost walked straight into Severus. "Hello Professor." He said uncertainly, knowing in public Snape had to play loathing, but round the back of the tents there were few people about.

Keep his voice indifferent Snape asked, "Are you about to perform, Potter?" He nodded shyly, as Meg watched their exchange.

"He has to wear a Costume!" Meg piped, "But it's different to mine."

Snape looked like he was trying not to laugh, "Really he asked?" Intrigued.

Meg nodded enthusiastically as Harry blushed very deeply, "Yes, he looks very Sexy!" Meg announced proudly, pleased that she remembered the word Jay had used. Harry closed his eyes slowly wishing he could die.

Severus chuckled evilly, "Well I just might have to watch the show then mightn't I?" he winked at Harry when Meg was looking the other way and made his way out to the ringside.

"Oh my God oh my God oh my God," Harry hyperventilated, making his way into the tent in a daze.

"Harry are you alright?" Jay asked concerned.

"Please don't ever use words like 'sexy' around Megan again!" Harry begged, still bright red.

"What, why? What happened?" Jay asked confused.

Meg spoke up, "We were talking to this man about Harry riding and I said he looked sexy in his costume!"

Jay smiled confused, "Oh Harry, people are going to call you sexy once in a while, its nothing to be ashamed off."

"It was Snape."

Jay face split into the biggest grin Harry had ever seen and he howled with laughter, barely managing to duck out the way when Harry lunged for him.

"Oi! Potter isn't it? You're up next, you might want to get a move on." A Man with a clipboard told him.

Harry left Jay and Meg, taking deep breaths he calmed himself and removed his cloak. I'm going to die, he thought. I wander what Snape's going to think of your outfit…and music Shut up! Swinging up into the saddle, the speaker announced; "And next up Harry Potter riding Tasmanian Devil!" Harry was exiting the tent seeing everyone staring at him when there was a hiss behind him.

"Oi! Potter!" He turned around to see that man with the clipboard toss his hat at him. Leaning sideways he plucked it out of the air and planted it on his head. Taking both reins again he Stopped in the centre, took a bow and waited for the music.

"The Way You Move by Outkast!"

This was it he was going to die! Breathe, damn it! He started trotting side ways…_  
_

Slow trotting round in a circle…

Cantering….

Rearing up… Taz's front legs lifting high up in time.

Walking backward…no hands…

Oh God! There was Severus…looking right at him…or rather…his body. Concentrate, Damn it! Left…_  
_

Jumping in the air…then to the right…

And back to the first bit…

Okay this wasn't too bad, they'd got it all right so far and his friends were cheering in the crowd…and Severus looked…well he looked like he wanted to pull him off his horse and shag him senseless there and then…Oh good God! He could not get a hard on now…

Not long to go now…. chorus again…_  
_

One more time…Harry grinned…this was great, he didn't feel nervous any longer…he felt down right sexy! Take that Voldemort and stick it up you're…

And Taz bowed, one knee down on the floor…

"Let's hear it for Harry and Taz everybody!" Harry grinned punching the hair and the crowd cheered wildly. He felt great…

"Harry, that was amazing!" Hermione cried hugging him.

"Thank 'Mione…I was so nervous!" Harry laughed, embarrassed at all the attention.

"Only because a certain somebody was watching you…" Jay grinned slyly. Harry flipped him the finger.

"Who? There's someone you like. Harry?" Hermione asked, Harry blushed very red and tried to look indifferent.

"Tell us mate!" Ron exclaimed, Harry shock his head, observing a nearby stall. He had about an hour before the Tricks display; there was some dancing being displayed on the stage at the moment. "Who is it Jay?" Ron asked.

"Uhuh! My lips are sealed, at least until Harry admits he likes him." Harry glared at Jay, but Jay just grinned back at him.

An hour later Harry found himself waiting in the tent again as Meg and Jay finished their vaulting routine. He was holding Meg's unicorn skirt, she had done extremely well, and the crowd had been amazed by the performance. Harry felt very proud and hugged her as she and Penny came back to the tent followed by Jay and Sundance. Next he was up. He wasn't vaulting, he was making Taz do tricks while standing on the ground. He was supposed to do it without a rope, only a long whip and he was a little nervous it would go wrong. Remembering his last performance and the way he had felt, Harry cleared his mind of all negative thoughts. They were going to go out there and show off to the best of their abilities…and they were going to rock. He kissed Taz on the nose and they walked out into the centre of the arena as their names were announced, Taz following unleashed at his shoulder.

"Let Me Entertain You by Robbie Williams!" There was a lot of cheering from the muggleborns at this announcement as Harry and Taz began their routine…

Harry and Taz came alive at the music…Taz was doing it all perfectly, hardly needing prompting; rearing, bucking, trotting, cantering and jumping in time. He was showing off as much as Harry was. When Harry spotted Severus watching him again he grinned back and although Snape's face was indifferent, Harry could see his eyes smiling back at him. As the song came to an end he and Taz bowed to all four sides before leaving, Harry waved and Taz reared a few times before leaving…his horse was such a show off, he thought fondly. As soon as they reached the tent Harry gave him some carrots to munch on.

"All right Harry!" Jay high-fived him, impressed.

They grabbed a snack for lunch when it was announced that the talent show was about to start, Harry had forgotten about that and Jay dragged them all towards the stage. They spent the next hour watching many of the younger students perform. Some were good, some should have been shot, but they cheered all the same; everyone was having fun. Harry was surprised when Luna sung a song 'Every time' by Britney Spears the blonde muggle singer. She song quite beautifully and Harry could see her shy, dreamy personally worked well with the song. The applause was very generous. But it was an act later that had them all in hysterics.

Somehow Fred and George had boycotted the performing student's stage; they were both wearing tight leather pants and mesh shirts and before anyone could stop them they were singing and strutting along to 'I'm too sexy' by 'Right Said Fred'. It was the funniest thing Harry had ever seen and what was more they pulled it off excellently. They could both sing pretty well, although to be fair all it really involved was a low sexy male voice. Ron was mortified, but the rest of them were laughing their guts up, even the teachers who made no attempt to stop the performance. Harry heard Dumbledore telling McGonagall it was enough to stop any Dark Lord in his tracks before popping a lemon drop into his mouth and cheering along with them…

_I'm too sexy for my love too sexy for my love  
Love's going to leave me _

I'm too sexy for my shirt too sexy for my shirt  
So sexy it hurts  
And I'm too sexy for Milan too sexy for Milan  
New York and Japan

And I'm too sexy for your party  
Too sexy for your party  
No way I'm disco dancing

I'm a model you know what I mean  
And I do my little turn on the catwalk  
Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk yeah  
I do my little turn on the catwalk

I'm too sexy for my car too sexy for my car  
Too sexy by far  
And I'm too sexy for my hat  
Too sexy for my hat what do you think about that

I'm a model you know what I mean  
And I do my little turn on the catwalk  
Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk yeah  
I shake my little touche on the catwalk

I'm too sexy for my too sexy for my too sexy for my

'Cos I'm a model you know what I mean  
And I do my little turn on the catwalk  
Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk yeah  
I shake my little touche on the catwalk

I'm too sexy for my cat too sexy for my cat  
Poor pussy poor pussy cat  
I'm too sexy for my love too sexy for my love  
Love's going to leave me

And I'm too sexy for this song

They finished by ignoring the cheering crowd and walking right off the stage, for which the crowd just cheered louder. When the cheering died down there was an announcement; "Ladies and Gentlemen we have one final act, may I present Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy!" Jay grinned, Harry frowned; the commentator had forgotten to tell them what the song was. As the pair came onto the stage he noticed that Draco wore a very hansom Blue tailcoat and Pansy was for once looking stunning in a gold renaissance dress. Malfoy walk up to the front of the stage and conjured up a speaker, Harry noticed both Draco and Pansy's parents were in the crowd, Lucius was talking to Severus.

"Just before we start, I'd like you to first know that a friend of mine approached me this morning when they heard about the competition and asked me and Pansy to sing this. It's for two people in the crowd, he assures me they'll know who they are, and I'd just like to say good luck and I hope you enjoy this." There was a scattered applause at Draco's cryptic message. He stood back next to Pansy and they began…

_Tale as old as time_  
_True as it can be_  
_Barely even friends_  
_Then somebody bends_  
_Unexpectedly_  
_Just a little change_  
_Small to say the least_  
_Both a little scared_  
_Neither one prepared_  
_Beauty and the Beast_

_Ever just the same_  
_Ever a surprise_  
_Ever as before_  
_Ever just as sure_  
_As the sun will rise_  
_Ever just the same_  
_Ever a surprise_  
_Ever as before_  
_Ever just as sure_  
_As the sun will rise_

_Tale as old as time_  
_Tune as old as song_  
_Bittersweet and strange_  
_Finding you can change_  
_Learning you were wrong_  
_Certain as the sun_  
_Rising in the east_  
_Tale as old as time_  
_Song as old as rhyme_  
_Beauty and the Beast_  
_Tale as old as time_  
_Song as old as rhyme_  
_Beauty and the Beast_  
_Beauty and the Beast _

Harry was looking at Severus, who was looking right back at him. Jay had conveniently disappeared, but Harry suddenly didn't care he was lost in those onyx eyes. He felt filled with that warm fuzzy feeling again, a longing, and happiness he'd never felt before. The song was still playing in his head; he was completely lost. Neither of them noticed Albus or Hermione who had noticed the two starring.

**Chapter 26…Halloween Part Two. The Great Race, the ritual and the feast…and could it possibly be…Harry and Sev's first kiss? Grins Evilly Remember…next chapter was going to the person who guessed Draco's surprise correctly! Wmahahaha no dedications for that chapter then…it's all mine!**

**Special thanks go to….**

hittocerebattosai – thanks for reviewing so quickly!

lady sakura cosmos – glad you're still with me.

Lady Lily3 – you're wish is my command!

Kyaku-kun – thankyou, again!

Lady Foxy Roxy – What did you think? Hmmm-good idea. A later possibility maybe? Hehehe, what would Lucius say! Next chapter will be dedicated to you!

Blueyesangel1186 – Quick enough for you:-)


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